A Quest To Remember
by LovePercyAnnabethForever
Summary: This is my first fanfic; I need some criticism. This is about Percy saving Annabeth and vice versa and their adventures together afterward. I have two pairs in this story: Percy and Annabeth and Thalia and Nico. Rated M for some weird scenes. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

_Percy Jackson…the war in the labyrinth._

_Chapter 1: A Damned Vision_

_There was a shadow, lurking in…the shadows._

_It checked all angles, checking to make sure it was alone. Then, it chucked something out of its pocket and set it down. It blazed neon green._

_Greek fire._

_The shadow turned, stepping into the fire's limelight, and was revealed to be a man; no, a teenager, with sandy blonde hair, an ugly scar across his face. His eyes shone gold._

_Luke._

_He focused on something in a corner; a someone struggling. They were tied to a post, Greek fire planted in vases, surrounding them. Then, the girl__¾it was a girl¾screamed, "Where's the Luke I know! Where's the Luke I trust? Where's the Luke who sheltered me for years, swearing he'd never leave us!"_

_Annabeth. _

_Luke smiled wickedly. "That Luke is gone, Anna," said a deeper voice that wasn't Luke._

"_Do NOT call me Anna! If Luke is truly gone, you have NO right to speak that way!"_

"_Anna! Anna! Anna! AN¾"_

_Something wet and slimy catapulted toward Luke-Kronos and hit him in the face. His head swiveled to the side, and he wiped the spit from his cheek. "Why, you little¾"_

"_AAAAHHHH!" Annabeth screamed in pain as the fire leaped up and grazed her leg. She wiggled, but the fire just rose, climbing her leg like a python. She screamed, loudly, but no one heard her. Luke(or, really? Kronos) laughed a deep, cutting howl, and raised his hands. The fire leapt, and Annabeth let out a piercing scream. Kronos pressed his hand into the wall, and holes opened in the bottom. Basilisks slithered out, their tongues flicking, spitting poison, blowing fire. One leapt over the fire and sank its teeth into Annabeth's arm._

_She howled._

_Kronos laughed, and left._

I woke with a start, a sick feeling in my stomach. I glanced around. Tyson wasn't here; he was supposed to come tomorrow…or rather, in a couple hours. I leapt out of bed, and changed real fast, into jeans and a Camp Half-Blood shirt. I ran to the Athena cabin and knocked on the door.

Jasmine opened the door, glaring at me coldly. "What?"

I shifted my feet wearily. "Um, I need to see Annabeth."

"She's sleeping."

"Please. It's important."

She rolled her eyes, muttering something about a head full of water, and went to go get Annabeth. Then she screamed.

I rushed in, and looked at Annabeth's bed. There was blood, specking from her pillow, to the floor, to the window, which was shattered. There was a clump of honey blonde hair, and a note attached: _You'll never see her again._

It was just as I'd feared. Annabeth was gone.

_**Sorry it's sort of short; I have more planned. If you want anything to happen, just ask. Please review; i hope you like it!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 2: Two Prophecies, A Traitor, Some Monsters In Disguise, and Some Tricks That End In Death.

Jasmine nearly killed me trying to get to Chiron first. But after Travis walked by, in a tank top and shorts, she stopped and trailed behind him. I heard her say, "Hey," and Travis, "Well, aren't you up early." "Um…" "Hey, my cabin is empty. Wanna_¾_" And I blocked it out after that.

When I came into the Big House, Chiron was immediately awake. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and, after I told him about my dream and Annabeth's absence, told me, "You must see the Oracle immediately."

So I walked up. The mummy was, surprisingly, up and said, _I have been expecting you. _

C…r…e…e…p…y…

_Ask, young hero._

"I'd like to receive a quest."

The mummy wavered and spoke:

_The maze was once explored at depth_

_It's contents hidden safely from theft_

_It must be explored again at length_

_With the power of three your lives at strength_

_You seek the girl concealed in shadow_

_To get her back there will be battle_

_Along with this the matter of life_

_Shall be tossed aside; ending in strife._

The mummy fell. She didn't wake.

I walked outside, shaking. The last two lines? _Along with this, the matter of life, shall be tossed aside, ending in strife? _Very optimistic. _Your life will be tossed away because tragedy will strike and you won't want to live anymore. _Basically. Lovely.

Chiron glanced at me. "Percy," he said, blankly.

"Um…I'm…ready…"

Chiron nodded. "I'd like to hear the prophecy."

I cleared my throat and repeated it.

Chiron's tail twitched. "I see." He gestured at the cabins. "I'd like you to gather your supplies, choose your companions, and leave immediately. I don't want the campers to feel alarmed."

I nodded. I began to leave when_¾_

"Percy?"

I stopped.

"The _power or three_ part? It means…well, you take three people, _plus _yourself."

Oh.

"And…someone has volunteered. All three, actually."

I almost opened my mouth and said, _"Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson right?"_ But then I remembered what the quest was for.

Grover was there. Tyson was there. And_¾_

_WHAT!_

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was there.

"I know you'll need me, Seaweed Brain," she said, and it just didn't sound right. "I'm your string."

I grabbed my bag off the table. "Let's go."

I kept walking, into the tunnel by Zeus's fist, and we all fell, straight down, landing in a cup that tilted and slid us down a slide so we plowed into some sand.

Perfect.

"YEE-OUCH!" Grover leapt up, swatting something that clonked Tyson in the head. He picked it up, and popped it in his mouth. "Yummy scorpion," Tyson said.

I stared.

Rachel seemed to be somehow pressed up against me. She breathed in my ear. "How romantic," she whispered.

I scooted away.

I glanced wearily around. There was many passages, but which one?

Rachel chose one with an orange glow. "She's here…I feel it." She drifted down the corridor.

Tyson began to walk, then stiffened. "No," he began, and Grover finished: "Something evil lurks!"

Rachel glared at them. "No! It's fine!"

Tyson whimpered. "No," he whispered. "It's_¾_"

A earthshaking roar echoed through the orange tunnel. Rocks fell from the ceiling. Rachel glared at Tyson and shouted, "Now look at what you've done!"

"It wasn't his fault!" I said, confused at why Rachel was acting so strangely. Rachel's eyes flared; almost seeming to turn a different color…but I must have imagined it, because suddenly she had my hand and was actually pulling me toward the _orange _tunnel_¾_the very one that was crumbling. "C'mon!" Rachel shouted, and Tyson screamed in unison with Grover, "Wait! No! Percy_¾_"

Walls crashed down. Rocks piled up at the entrance. Grover managed to shout, "Percy! She's not who you think! She smells_¾_" And the final rock fell.

Rachel glanced at me, her eyes _definitely _a different color now. They seemed to glow in the orangey light of the tunnel. "Purr-see," she slurred, her hands suddenly shooting out and gripping my arms so hard I yelped. "You know you wan-a!"

I was very disturbed and alarmed and confused. "What?"

"Oh please! That Annabeth act? I know it's all been a lie! And even if it wasn't, well, it will be, soon, oh yes, very soon…" She seemed to be leaning forward…?

Suddenly, Rachel pushed me up against the wall, her breathing hard and heavy. I immediately realized what was happening and tried ton scramble away, but she laughed and said, "Oh, Perseus Jackson, when will you ever learn! Ah ha-ha-ha-ha!"

She placed her lips on mine and I jerked my knee up. It slammed into her stomach and she stumbled backwards, spitting, and I began to run. She screamed in rage. She leapt forward and crashed into me, and I flew into the rocks, face first. I yelled in outrage. I flipped her off me and shouted, "Tyson! Tyson! Help me_¾_"

Rachel lunged.

I rolled out of the way, and she slammed into the rocks. I expected her to be out cold, but she got back up and said, "I'll get you, one way or another! Why don't you just stop now!" She suddenly rose up into the air and spoke:

"_Stop, Percy Jackson!"_

I froze against my will. Rachel howled and came onto me, ripping my shirt and my skin with…her claws!

She pushed me down, her eyes definitely a different color now_¾_gold. She smiled as she tore my shirt off, and began to_¾_Poseidon help me_¾_began to…kiss my chest.

She smiled and got on top of me, and I tried to struggle, I really did, I did _not _want to be here! She smiled and ran a line from the top of my jaw to the tip of my ear, and it finally dawned on me: I was being…well, raped.

I heard Tyson's distant voice: "Almost there, my brother!"Not fast enough.

Rachel smiled evilly and said, "See, you're not protesting_¾_are you?"

I heard myself say, "No, this is fun."

"Exactly!" Rachel gushed, and kissed me full on the lips.

Grover spoke in my mind: _Snap out of it!_

_What do you think I'm trying to do!_

_Here: I'll give you a temporary break: One, two, three¾_

The spell broke. I leapt up and swatted Rachel aside. She turned around in mid-air and transformed_¾_HOW!_¾_into a python that came at me a million miles an hour. She sank her fangs in my neck.

I fell backwards at the force, writhing in pain. Rachel held on, her fangs sinking deeper, and with a twist of horror, I realized something: I was being poisoned and maimed.

Suddenly, the rocks burst, and Tyson was there, his huge brown red with rage. "Get off of Percy!" he snarled, and ripped Rachel from my throat, a tad painfully. He bit_¾_yes, bit_¾_down in the middle of Rachel, so she broke in two. She went limp.

Tyson ate her.

Grover said, "WHA!"

Tyson glanced at him. "Bad Red-Head will come later," he assured us. "I didn't _really _eat her."

Grover didn't look completely convinced.

My vision began to darken. I was at the brink of death when Grover said, "Oh! Ambrosia!" And…mm, cookies…blue chocolate chip…

"Percy!" Tyson stood me up and said, "Are you dead?"

"Uhn…no."

"YAY!"

I groaned, and my vision swirled. Tyson caught me and suddenly I heard a shout. I glanced around and saw two figures rushing toward us in a black smoke. We jumped to the left_¾_me, more fell_¾_and the smoke crashed into the wall. It dissipated and Nico and Thalia were upside down against the wall. "Next time," Thalia groaned, "We fly here."

"Thalia! Nico!" Tyson screamed, dropping me to the floor. Thalia's eyes widened and Nico said, "Ah_¾_CHOO!" and the force blew Tyson backwards. He got right back up and said, "Wow! Big sneeze!"

Thalia stared at Nico. "No kidding," she said.

Nico blushed. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Thalia smiled. "It's okay," she said. "I kind of like it."

Nico blushed harder.

Grover said, "Whoa, satyr in the house! Get a room_¾_"

Thalia silenced him with a glare. "Shut up, _satyr."_

Grover looked genuinely hurt. Thalia usually didn't talk so harshly to Grover. He'd never exactly gotten over the whole "Thalia's Tree" thing. Then again, Grover had never teased Thalia so harshly, either.

Thalia didn't say sorry; she might've, she even looked like she was about to say it, when Grover remarked, "I suppose it isn't _my _fault that _some _people are just _dying _to have sex after they've lost so many important years!"

Thalia's face lost color and her eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open. Thunder rumbled high above. "Why, you little_¾_!" She lunged forward and Nico caught her by the arms. "Thalia, it's not worth it," he soothed.

"You're right, that not it_¾_tell me, how'd you do it_¾_where'd you get the condemns? Or did you just go all natural_¾_and you're carrying the little di Angelo!"

Nico's eyes blazed with fury. "Okay, now it's personal, you low-life-living goat boy_¾_"

"Nico!" Thalia's eyes were alive with blue lightning, but she said with a determined voice, "It's not worth it…and we're here to save Annabeth." Her eyes blazed a hole into Grover's forehead. "You'll get yours later," she growled. She brushed her side against Grover and he yelped; he began to smoke.

Nico snickered and followed Thalia. I got up, steadied myself, and went over to Grover. I smacked him so hard he flew into the wall.

"What the Hades is wrong with you?" I ask sharply. He glared coldly at me and said, "She had it coming. I mean, she was just asking for it, flirting with Nico that way_¾_"

"She wasn't flirting! Did you forget that she's a Hunter!"

Grover paused. "Like that would stop her," he finally mumbled.

"Grover! What is wrong with you?" I snapped. This wasn't like him.

"What do you mean," said a female voice, and I whirled around. Rachel stood there, and she snarled, "That was rude; throwing me to the _Cyclopes."_

"Yes, so rude," said another female, and I whirled around. AAH! Another Rachel!

"You need to be taught a lesson," Rachel One said.

"Right now," agreed Rachel Two.

"Brace yourself, Percy Jackson!" they said in unison.

"Grover!" I shouted.

"Yeah?" I heard him say, and I whirled to Rachel Two. She flickered to Grover, and back again. "Confused yet, sweetie?"

"No!" I screamed, backing up against the cave wall. "Stay away from me!"

The Rachels came closer, smiling evilly. "Oh Percy…" Rachel One slurred.

"Kiss me, baby!" screeched Rachel Two. She puckered her lips…revealing her fangs.

Uh oh…

Suddenly, a black hole opened in the floor, and the Rachels screamed. Then they smiled evilly and they twisted into a cruel one. Shadowy, black bat wings sprouted from their backs and they rose above the jagged crack in the earth. "You really think it could be so easy?" screech Rachel One at Nico, who he and Thalia had suddenly appeared by my side. "I find that highly insulting!" She glanced darkly at Rachel Two. "My dear?"

"Yes, Elaine?"

"What?" Thalia said, confused as me.

"Eat them!" Rachel One screamed, and they both dive-bombed us.

"Run!" Thalia screamed, and we all went separate ways. Nico dove into a crevice in the wall, Thalia shot up into a perch, and me? I ran toward a puddle.

Rachel One_¾_Elaine_¾_dove toward Nico and desperately thrust her hands into the small dent, screaming in fury and lengthening her arms. "Come to me, rotten son of the Underworld!"

Nico scooted farther into the hole, but he didn't have much room left.

Just as Elaine's poisoned dipped claws scratched Nico, something fell from the ceiling and crashed into her. She was whipped away, rolling down into a pit…one that led straight to Tartarus.

"NO!" Nico screamed, jumping up and racing over to the pit where Thalia had sacrificed herself.

Elaine's sister, Rachel Two, screamed in unison, screaming what I assumed was her sister's name: "Elaine, come back to me, Belladonna! Belladonna! Bella! Donna!"

I didn't say anything. I halfheartedly threw Riptide through Belladonna. I didn't know what to expect; she was possibly a monster, half-blood, or some twisted freak of a mortal. It went through her and, with a sob, she dissipated into golden dust.

Monster.

Nico sunk to his knees, and began to cry. "Thalia," he murmured.

"Nico," I said, kneeling next to him, "does she feel dead?"

I expected him to explode I fury, but he paused and said, "Hey…no."

He stood up. He stared down into the pit without fear and called, _"Thalia!"_

At first there was silence. Then, deep down, a voice: "Nico…"

"Thalia!" Nico screamed, and my jaw dropped at what happened next: He hurled himself into the pit.

"Nico!" I screamed.

"He is not gone, brother," a voice assured me, and I jumped. I hadn't even noticed Tyson had disappeared, or reappeared, but suddenly he was there. Wary of more Rachels, I said, "What's your hippocampus's name?"

"Rainbow," Tyson said, confused. "Why?"

I shook my head. "Just making sure," I mumbled, and we both stared down at the pit. Seconds later, Nico rose on black foam, holding a limp Thalia.

He placed her on the ground and said, "I was given a prophecy too." Then he recited it.

_The deadly maze_

_Is vital to_

_The path that soon_

_Will know is you_

_But in this maze_

_You will soon find_

_The thing that's vital_

_Is not your kind_

_It's a vicious monster_

_A dastardly beast_

_It'll rip your heart out_

_Piece by piece_

_But in a way_

_That won't be you;_

_It'll take a person…_

_Your one love true._

Nico looked away sadly.

"Nico…"

"I should've seen it," he said sorrowfully.

"It's not your fault."

"But it is," he said, a tear cascading down his face. "It could've been me. Or you."

"I feel so loved."

"Yeah, well, I don't. My _one love true _is gone."

Tyson was staring at Thalia. "Nico_¾_"

"Not now, Tyson my friend," Nico interrupted. "Thalia…well, I think we were beginning to become…more than friends. But now, that'll never happen, because I couldn't screw up the courage to say 'I love you,' and now she'll never know that I did."

As Nico was talking, I saw Thalia stir and her eyelids fluttered. She listened intently to Nico's speech, her eyes shining when he said _I love you. _As he finished, he sighed and turned to her, and she reached up and kissed him.

I felt like I was invading their privacy.

When they finally pulled away, Thalia stood up herself and smiled. "I love you too, for the record."

"But…you're a…a…"

"Hunter? Screw it," she said, leaning forward to kiss him again.

About five minutes into their second kiss, I couldn't take it, and I cleared my throat loudly. They broke apart and Thalia blushed a ferocious red, matching perfectly with Nico.

"As much as you guys are perfect for each other, would you be so kind as to prove it some other time when Annabeth isn't in danger?"

Thalia smiled. "Aw, Percy's _jealous!"_

"What! No, I just meant_¾_"

"Cute!" she smiled darkly.

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, looking around, choosing a dark shadowed tunnel. "C'mon."

Tyson walked next to me, and I glanced behind me. Thalia and Nico were holding hands, teasing each other. Thalia would quickly kiss his cheek and retreat, causing Nico to whirl to face her, getting a full kiss. Then he would do the same. And her. And him. And her. And him. And her_¾_

"Oh would you put a sock in it!" I screamed. They innocently pulled away from a Thalia-Attack. They both blushed.

We walked in silence, and I was aware that some time after five minutes, they started their game up again. I ignored it, because Tyson was telling me about how they had made another Backbiter, only one for Poseidon's double-sided trident. I tried to listen, I really did, but my mind kept bouncing back to Annabeth, being tortured in some room of the Labyrinth. _Supposedly, _it had been destroyed when "Quintus," or rather, Daedalus, "died," or "separated form his machine-body." No. It had stayed, just became more dangerous without a controller.

When I finally hit rock bottom and got distracted and teetered off to the side, crashing into a wall, Nico suggested we rest. We wondered into a room that had four exits: the one we just entered, one going down, one going on in a brick wall structure, and one that led to a room with an orange glow.

I crashed as soon as I slumped over onto the mossy ground.

I had another dream. Annabeth.

_She was still strapped to the pole. Her face was black and blue with bruises. Her arms were scratched, and the one where the snake had sank its teeth into it had a long scratch; two parallel lines going down with green and blue poison leaking out, along with red, lots and lots of blood. Her shirt was torn, as were her jeans, and her legs had burns and bruises and scratches. She was hanging unconscious, and the fire still burned. Pythons slithered around, flicking their tongues into the air. One slept on a pot of Greek fire. _

_Luke strolled in, glancing wearily at Annabeth. His eyes flickered to their regular blue, and he reached out. Then they hardened back to gold and his smile twisted. "Oh Anna," he purred._

_She glanced up wearily. "Do…_not…._call…me…that."_

"_Are you hurting?" he said, smirking. _

_Annabeth didn't answer._

"_Your friend, is right outside," he said, and suddenly he flipped a coin into the wall. A golden drachma! It cracked a water pipe and a rainbow ensued, and the coin fell into the rainbow; disappeared. It showed me and Thalia and Nico and Tyson. Tyson was sitting happily against the wall, I was sleeping in a puddle, and Thalia and Nico were curled up together, smiling blissfully. _

"_I'll make him suffer," Kronos said cruelly. _

"_NO!" Annabeth screamed. "Kill me. Leave him alone. I don't care! Just leave¾Percy ¾alone!"_

_Kronos laughed. "Okay," he said. "I'm sure it will tear your boyfriend apart."_

_A tear slid down her cheek. "Go ahead," she snarled. "Just leave him alone."_

_Kronos smiled and snapped his fingers. A giant basilisk crept out of a door to the left. It flicked its tongue. "I am ready, master," it hissed._

"_Good!" Kronos smiled. He pointed at Annabeth. "Kill her."_

_Annabeth hissed herself and said, "You low life living coward! Release me and fight me! If you're so powerful, why don't you! If you beat me, tie me back up, whatever. Order the snake to kill me. I don't care! If I win, let me go, and don't touch my friends!"_

_Kronos rolled his eyes. "Oh please. I am not so gullible as lord Ares. I shall not be baited into a fight, even if I know I will win, what with your condition. I'd prefer if you die a long, painful death! It'd torture your friend more than his own death."_

_Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized what this meant, and as the snake came closer. "There's no right way," she murmured. "I…I have to¾"_

_The basilisk slapped her across the face with its tongue. Poison caked her face, and she screamed. "No!" she screamed. "NO!"_

"_Do you _care _if you die?" Kronos asked, genuinely curious. _

"_Not for myself," she snarled, clawing at her face in pain. "I care that Percy will be hurt!"_

"_Well, we mustn't be hasty, then!" Kronos snapped at the snake and shouted, "Calypso!"_

_Through her pain, Annabeth managed to breathe, "You named your monster after a beautiful goddess?"_

"_Yes, as a matter of fact, I did! Now, Calypso, make her death slow and painful."_

_Calypso smiled darkly with its snake-like mouth. "Yes, my lord."_

_It sank its teeth into her chest. Annabeth screamed._

I woke up, and I swore I could still hear her scream. Then, I realized: I could.

I shot up, backpack slung over my shoulder, and Riptide out. Tyson woke up and glanced around, and said, "Who's screaming?"

Thalia and Nico shot up too, subconsciously gripping each other. They pulled apart, not even blushing, and said, "What?" in unison. _That _time they blushed.

"Annabeth!" I hissed, and raced in the direction of the orange room. I suddenly _knew _that was where Annabeth was. I heard a hiss and she screamed again, and I burst into the room, and shouted, "Let her go!"

It might've been better to be discreet.

Through her poison, Annabeth managed to look up. She stared at me and said, "Percy?"

Kronos whirled around and his gold eyes glowed in rage. "Percy _Jackson!_"

Kronos snapped his fingers and shouted, "Calypso, Arachnid Bombard!

Calypso hissed and said, _"With pleasure, my lord." _

Calypso shimmered and changed into a spider. Through Annabeth's green poison-caked face, she screamed as the tarantula fell onto her chest. It spat out a green web that gagged Annabeth's mouth, and it walked haughtily down her arm. She wiggled, trying to shake it off, when suddenly it sank its teeth into her arm and dragged it from just below her shoulder down to her palm. She let out a muffled shout of pain. It leapt back up and suddenly jumped into the back of her shirt and disappeared. I don't know what was happening, but she squeezed her eyes shut and pushed herself up against the wall. There was a loud _crunch! _and the spider fell out of her shirt, landing between two pots of Greek fire on its back. It twitched and stayed still.

"Calypso!" Kronos yelped, and turned on Annabeth with a roar. "I guess I _will _have to kill you _myself!"_

He lunged at Annabeth with Backbiter.

I intercepted him in midair, crashing him down to the floor. He rolled over and tried to stab me on the floor, but I leapt up and used to leverage of Riptide to flip myself onto Kronos' back. He roared and swung his blade in back of him, running around, yelling at Calypso to get off his lazy * * * and help him. I was so busy trying to hold on I didn't notice he was getting a lucky shot until it knocked me in the back and I flew off his back, spinning and tumbling across the floor.

Kronos took his sweet time walking toward me, bending time and spinning his sword off his fingers. He strolled over to me and said, "This is the most fun I've had in over _a thousand years!" _He brought his blade down.

Somehow I managed to scoot over, but the blade still stabbed me. Kronos had been aiming for my chest, but it pierced straight through my side. I let out a howl but pulled myself up, world spinning and black dots dancing across my vision. "You just crossed the line," I growled, or at least I meant to, but it came out more like, "Boo lust bossed la fine."

Kronos chuckled and I glanced at Annabeth. Her eyes were closing, and her breathing was getting shallow. But somehow she locked eyes with me and pleaded: _please just save yourself._

I gave my head a slight shake. _Never. I'll fight 'til the end._

Annabeth said, _please._

I answered her by turning to Kronos, giving him a level (if slightly shaky) glare.

I charged.

Kronos rolled his eyes and brought his blade to the side, planning to slam me to the left. I jumped over the blade, and it came back around, slamming into his own head. He stumbled backward, blinking, and I took the distraction to slam the butt of my sword into his chest. He stumbled more, falling, and I jumped up and put the blade under his chin.

He stared, maybe unseeing, at me with gold eyes.

_Kill him. Now. It'll be easy. Just run him through. Your troubles will be over._

I glanced around. A female voice had just spoken. But I couldn't see anyone.

_I am Gaea, child. I'm on your side._

Gaea? Sounds familiar…

_Mother Earth, child. If you kill him, everything will be alright._

I grit my teeth. The spots were getting bigger.

_Now, young hero, before you fall. _

I brought the blade up, and I saw Kronos reach for Backbiter, which had spun out of his hands as he'd fell. I flipped my sword and brought it down on his head with a loud _BOOM-CRACK!_

Kronos was unconscious.

As the dots got larger, Gaea's voice rang in my head: _You have lost a chance, young hero. Strike one. You've made an enemy. _And she was gone.

Someone moaned. I looked up, vision still dancing, and saw Annabeth hanging limply from the pole. I rushed over and leapt over the fire, and the pythons_¾_oh!

One lunged over a fire and hissed, fangs bared, heading toward my throat.

I swatted it aside; felt a slight twinge in my neck, and stabbed every other one that opposed me as I waded my way to Annabeth. I saw the tarantula get up…

I jumped over the fire, tripped_¾_yeah yeah, very heroic_¾_and got to Annabeth's pole. I reached up and untied her, and she fell into my arms. To my horror, she was so light, she almost slipped through my arms, and I could feel her ribs. I could see her burns, feel her bruises, and feel the warm, flowing blood on her many scratches. I kneeled down and out my backpack under her head. She was barely breathing.

"Annabeth?" I said. She didn't answer. I made the spots go away, and reached into my bag, careful to cradle her head, and looked around for ambrosia, nectar, anything. But I couldn't find anything. I stared at Annabeth in alarm.

"Annabeth," I whispered, and she didn't stir. I put my head on her bleeding chest. She was still breathing…just barely.

I took my head up, feeling it dripping with blood, and leaned forward, kissing Annabeth gently. I finally leaned away.

I picked Annabeth up and began to walk out the door, stepping over Kronos, and walking over to Thalia and Nico and Tyson. Thalia and Nico were doing a butterfly kiss and Tyson was strangely licking his hand and then chewing on it, and then…growling to himself.

Thalia and Nico looked up when I came. Thalia's face fell, turning red, and Nico's face darkened.

It was like when Nico came with Thalia. But from the look on his face, this time, the girl wouldn't wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 3: More Traitors, Attempted Suicide, Attempted Murder, and a Surprise Guest

Tyson look up and saw Annabeth lying lifelessly. His face twitched.

Thalia rushed over and ran her fingers over Annabeth's arachnid scratch. She glanced at Nico sadly. "Is she…?"

He nodded grimly.

A tear slid down her cheek. Nico came over to comfort her. He put his arm around her and she burst into tears, burying her face into his chest.

I wish I had someone to cry on.

That night was a strange one. Tyson hadn't spoke since I'd gotten back, just kept growling and itching his back on the wall. Thalia hadn't come out from Nico's chest, sobbing until she eventually fell asleep, her face resting on his chest. Nico had stared at the ceiling for a bit, and then fell asleep, eventually facing her in his slumber.

I wanted to go to sleep; but at the same time, I didn't. I lay awake, next to Annabeth's body, my hand tangled in her hair.

I stared at the ceiling. I may still have Thalia and them, but the world still seemed empty. My life…had no meaning.

Except I had to think of everything.

My dad: Poseidon. If I decided to commit suicide, then he'd be sad, but he had a million (possibly literally) other sons to love.

Tyson: Had dad. And seemed to be in his own head anyway.

Thalia: had Nico.

Nico: had Thalia.

Chiron: had seen too many heroes die, and would get over it.

My mom:…

She'd be heartbroken. She'd cared for me all my life. Would it really be fair to her if I just threw my life away?

No, it wouldn't.

But right now, I wasn't sure if I cared.

I stood up, shaking slightly, and walked over to a pit. It went down farther than I could see, reeked of death, and led to Tartarus.

It would be a painless death.

Well…kind of.

I rocked back and forth on my heels. I glanced back at our camp. Thalia and Nico were faced away from each other, Nico mumbling in his sleep, Thalia kicking and punching.

Tyson faced the wall, sucking on his thumb, growling and mumbling.

And Annabeth…

I faced the pit.

"What are you doing?" someone growled.

I turned around. Tyson stood, one eye forced into bloodshot. He growled, this time at me. "I said, _what are you doing!"_

I stared at him in the…eye. "W_-_what do you mean?"

"I asked you a _question!" _he roared, stepping forward. I stumbled backwards, teetering on the edge of the pit. Suddenly I heard dark laughter, and I decided I did _not _want to fall.

"I'm attempting suicide!" I screamed at him.

This made him pause. I took the opportunity to shove him forward (like shoving a refrigerator) and leapt to the side. Tyson growled_-_I'm seeing why he was practicing_-_and lunged. I suddenly knew what would happen, and watched it unfold before my eyes.

His shape twisted and narrowed, stretched and sharpened; his dull square teeth sharpened into fangs and his meaty hands extended into claws. His arms grew to feathery wings and his legs sharpened into girly legs, cheerleader legs, with hooked claws. His shirt shrunk and shortened, turning into a short, tied shirt that stopped just above his_-_her_-_breasts. His big cargo pants shortened into extra-short denim jean shorts.

Somehow, the monstrous features flickered, and manicured hands replaced the claws, skinny arms replaced the wings, regular teeth replaced the fangs, barefoot feet replaced the claws. His short messy hair sprouted into shocking blonde_-_more blonde than Annabeth_-_and his eye shimmered into two bright blue ones that sparkled. His split lips changed into full, pink ones, and he became more skinny.

Before me stood a beautiful girl.

"Percy," she breathed, and her voice was a musical one that had me by the neck. I stumbled forward, shouting mentally at myself, _Stop! She's charmspeaking you! Stop! _But I couldn't stop.

She smiled as I walked forward, clearly struggling with myself, and she beckoned me with her finger. I stumbled forward, like an invisible hand had shoved me, and practically fell into her arms. A sickly sweet smell entered me, making me completely disoriented.

She smiled, her fangs there again, and she whispered in my ear: _The others didn't think I could do it. Do you think so?_

I found myself saying, "You could do anything."

She giggled and said, _Exactly what I thought! _She leaned forward and kissed my neck.

I felt her fangs sink into my neck, and I tried to go away, but some invisible binding kept me from doing so. She was literally sucking the life out of me.

_Don't worry, little hero, _she assured me. _I'm the gentlest monster. Your death will be bliss. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm just getting you out of the way. Look at it this way: you will be with your pretty little girlfriend in Elysium. _

I stopped resisting. That was true. Annabeth was dead, and I could spend all of my death with her, wherever we ended up.

I felt the girl smile against my neck. _That's right, relax, _she soothed. _I'll give you a joyful death, and then you can descend into the underworld with your girlfriend. Just relax…_

So I did. The girl smiled, sucking the life out of me painlessly, occasionally combing her hands through my hair. I watched Thalia and Nico, snuggling up together, and knew they were good in each other's hands. I felt my life slipping away, and closed my eyes. The girl said, _Almost done. _I felt almost nothing; I was dying, and it was a great death. I would almost be with Annabeth! And I would apologize for being too late, and tell her I was so sorry, and_-_

Suddenly there was a fiery pain in my neck, and the girl screamed. She dissipated, and I looked up. I almost died right there and then.

"Hi Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said.


	4. Chapter 4

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 4: Back From The Dead

I managed to stumble up, and Annabeth smiled weakly before collapsing into my arms.

When Thalia and Nico woke up, they found me and Annabeth up against the wall, backs to it, holding hands, fast asleep.

I woke up, and found myself lying down on the cold cave floor. For a horrible moment I was terrified that the place where Annabeth was really alive was all a dream. And then I saw the gold, if somewhat dirty and tangled, hair.

I leaned forward and kissed her head through her hair. Her eyes opened and she smiled, burying her head into my chest. She fell asleep again.

I wasn't surprised. She was badly hurt, and I didn't have any nectar or ambrosia. I was surprised that she was even alive, and even more so that she had the strength to get up without stumbling and making a racket, and stab a monster that was trying to kill me, preventing me from making a terrible mistake_-_but I wasn't complaining.

One thing puzzled me though: Why did Nico say she was dead? I decided that, when Annabeth finally decided to get up for good, or maybe when she turned over, I would get up and ask.

About an hour later, Annabeth flipped over, and I got up and walked over to Nico, who was sitting against a wall, alone. I raised an eyebrow.

"She's over there, behind that wall," he said, pointing, answering my question to where Thalia was.

"What?" I said, glancing behind me. All I saw was a…wall.

"You can't see it unless you're pressed up against it, but there's a hole big enough for each of us to squeeze through_-_and behind it, there's a waterfall, and a nice little pool. She's washing off," he added.

"Are you sure you shouldn't stay over there and make sure she doesn't get attacked_-_oh, wait, um, never mind."

Nico smirked. "She didn't want me there when she rinsed off. She assured me that she'd be fine_-_we checked the place out. It's like a bedroom sized room, no exits except that wall. There's no way she could be attacked."

We listened wearily_-_it was usually now the Fates caught up and made something happen_-_but everything seemed alright.

"So, Nico, why did you say_-_"

"That Annabeth was dead?" he finished. He suddenly looked disturbed. "Because she was."

"But I thought_-_"

"That the dead couldn't come back? Well, they're not supposed to," he admitted. "They're supposed to _stay _dead once they _are _dead. But…I had a dream last night.

"You were being attacked by a she-devil_-_and I have a terrible feeling you really were_-_and there was a stirring in the underworld. I missed what happened to you_-_you can tell me after_-_and suddenly I was in the underworld. I was before my father's throne, and he told me that something was sifting through the souls, trying to bring some back up. He told me to find Annabeth, because he didn't want her hurt. I'd never heard him talk like that, and he noticed, so he rolled his eyes and sent me to Annabeth.

"She was at her hearing, and she looked nervous. When she saw me, she smiled, and I told the judges_-_Midas, Washington, and Anastasia and Ethan_-_you know, the jester? They counted as one cause they never leave each other's side. Anyway, I told the judges she wasn't…ready yet. They looked confused, but then they got it. So, I took her back up…but I lost her halfway. I was so alarmed that I went back down, but my father told me she'd made it. And then my dream switched to a regular one, my happy one, you know, where I eat all the chocolate I want, and then Thalia comes, and_-_"

"I know!" I interrupted, because when Nico described that dream, he got kind of caught up in…certain parts. I sighed and said, "So…you brought her back?"

He nodded.

"Thanks." I stuck my hand out, and he laughed and stood up, shaking it and clapping me on the back.

"Nico?" Thalia called.

He looked up at the wall. Now that I knew, I could barely make out a little hole near the bottom, big enough to got through, and I could sense water.

"Can you come? I can't…um…"

Nico's eyes shone. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he said, looking at me with a stupid expression. "See ya," he said happily, and I rolled my eyes as he raced over to the wall and crawled through.

I walked back over to Annabeth and lay down next to her. She opened her eyes briefly, smiled, and fell back asleep against my chest again.

I watched the ceiling. I couldn't believe Annabeth had been to death and back_-_this time because she actually _died. _I'd have to ask her sometime_-_a long time from now, though.

I heard Thalia giggling. Those idiots.

I couldn't get over the fact that every three of my friends that I'd come with had turned out to be fakes. Where were the real ones? I was suddenly worried. I'd had Thalia and Nico come, and I'd gotten Annabeth back, just barely, literally from the jaws of death, but lost three friends. Three for three.

_A trade._

I closed my eyes. Gaea.

_Did you miss me, young hero? _

No.

_But I brought your lovely back! You didn't seriously think that _boy did, _did you?_

I was too shocked to think.

Gaea laughed. _Yes, it was me._

_It was not, Percy. It was indeed Lord Hades._

Dad.

_Thanks, dad._

He was gone.

_It wasn't you, Gaea. It was Hades._

_IT WAS ME!_

No. No. No!

Gaea roared…and was gone.

I closed my eyes, not tired, just bored. I listened to everything. I heard Annabeth's slow, if slightly shaky, steady breathing. I heard monsters roar, far from where I was though. I heard water trickle. I heard Thalia giggle and laugh. I heard Nico laugh.

I heard a monster.

A bit closer than it should've been.

I shot up, and felt the ground shaking. Rocks jumped up and down. I grabbed the bag_-_maybe it didn't have any ambrosia or nectar; it had a water bottle and cash_-_and shook Annabeth. "Annabeth," I hissed. "Annabeth!"

She woke up, her eyes blinking. Then they widened and she said, "Percy, where_-_"

I dragged her toward the hole, and the laughing had stopped. Thalia was to the side of the entrance, beckoning us to hurry. She helped Annabeth through_-_it wasn't that she was too fat, no, that was _not _a problem, it was that she was too weak to drag herself through_-_and I shoved myself through the hole just as something burst into the larger room. We all pressed ourselves into the wall, next to the pool, when I remembered something Paul gad taught me: _If you're being followed, especially by an animal, water throws off your scent. It masks it and makes it harder to be found. _

I mouthed to Nico, _water. _He nodded and whispered in Thalia's ear. I couldn't help but notice how she smiled blindly when he did that. She nodded and slipped in, then Nico, then Annabeth. It looked shallow, and I was worried it wouldn't work when I wondered why I couldn't see Thalia or Nico anymore. Then Annabeth slipped in and fell.

I slipped in fast, just as the wall exploded.

It was much deeper than it appeared. I couldn't see the bottom. I sent an air bubble over to Thalia and Nico, who let out their breath. I looked around for Annabeth, and saw her sinking. I shot another bubble and swam over, slipping in. She was on the bottom of the bubble, breathing hard. I closed the bubbles so you couldn't see in or out.

She looked over when I sat next to her, and smiled. "I'm sorry I've been such a burden," she said quietly, out of breath.

"You're not," I assured her, my voice sounding loud next to hers. She smiled and said, "I am though. I was almost too slow when you were waking me up, and I couldn't get my bearings. If I'd been a second slower, we both could've gotten killed_-_for real. There will be a time in the future where I _am _too slow, and we'll both get killed. Maybe you should just leave me at the bottom of this lake."

I put my hand on her forehead. "Do you have a fever?" I asked. "Cause that's the silliest idea I've ever heard_-_"

"No, Percy, you don't understand." She closed her eyes. "I _knew _when you could see me, tortured in the room. I knew when you couldn't, too. He told me how you'd be tortured if I died_-_and I believed him."

"Well, I was tortured," I told her.

"I know. And it tortured me, too. When Nico did find me in the underworld, I _was _nervous_-_but only worried that while I wasn't there, you would do something stupid_-_like get yourself killed," she said, smiling.

"I thought we could be together," I admitted.

"But as the she devil spoke, she knew I was coming back. And do you think she really cared if I was there or not? She didn't. I could tell. All the senses in the underworld when you're actually there_-_" she shuddered. "Anyway, when I was in the torture chamber, it hurt, but I personally didn't care for myself_-_I couldn't stand if I died. You'd be tortured. And vice versa. I probably would have killed myself."

"So you see why I attempted suicide, then gave in, right?"

Annabeth gave a reluctant nod. "Yeah. But what if something happens again? If I die_-_again_-_then what are you gonna do? I might not come back again."

"I'll kill myself," I said seriously.

"No! Don't kill yourself, Seaweed Brain. I couldn't _stand _if you killed yourself. I'd have a guilty conscience my whole afterlife! I'd never be able to live_-_um, _be _with myself. So please, maybe you could just leave me here, and_-_"

"No!" I wasn't laughing. I wasn't smiling. I was dead serious. "Annabeth, you keep talking about how it would break _your _heart if I died_-_don't you think it would be the same for me? I went through it _once, _and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. I wanted to kill myself. I very nearly almost killed myself, first, by attempting to commit suicide, the other time, I let a monster kill me! I _let _a monster kill me! Almost! I don't want to got through it again!"

Annabeth had been watching me the whole time, her gray eyes gazing at me intensely. Near the end, she smiled.

"Why are you smiling!" I screamed. I was glad this bubble was soundproof. "I'm serious! Dead serious! I don't want to lose you! You're the best thing that's happened to me! If I lost you, my world would mean not_-_"

Annabeth leaned forward and kissed me.

My eyes widened for a moment, stunned, and then I closed them and smiled, putting my hands in her hair, tangling it, snaring it, and she did the same. When we finally came up for air, maybe three minutes later, we just gazed into each other's eyes for a while breathing hard, smiling.

She rest her head against my chest, and I ran my hands through her hair. She was breathing shallowly again, and I had a feeling it wasn't because of exhilaration.

I kept running my hands through her hair calmly, and she kept breathing shallower and shallower. I pulled her closer, and she buried her face in my chest.

"That's probably not good for you in that condition," I pointed out.

She shifted so the side of her head was on my chest instead of where she breathed.

I smiled. "That's better," I said.

She smiled.

I looked through a little window. Fish swam by, and a shark stopped to sniff the bubble. I remembered how I healed whenever I touched water. Could I transfer it; possibly even cure inner problems…?

I reached my hand through the bubble, careful not to disturb Annabeth, and felt the water rush through me. I pulled my arm back in, making sure it stayed wet, and put my hand gently on Annabeth's arm. She was asleep, so she didn't notice.

I watched in awe as the bruises faded, the scratches, shrunk, and the burns disappeared. But the arachnid scratch_-_the poisoned one_-_stayed, and Annabeth's breathing lifted a bit, but not much. Either the water-through-me thing didn't work fully, or the poison was just too strong. I felt frustrated that I couldn't do anything more.

Annabeth sighed and said, "Thanks, Percy." She shifted a bit and added, "It's okay. I'm sure when we get back to camp, Chiron can fix me."

I nodded. But I didn't voice my question: _What if it was too late?_

**Sorry I haven't updated in so long! Anyway, I have the next couple chapters already planned out…any ideas anyway? How am I doing? Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 5: Bubble Business and Gone Again

I'll admit: I fell asleep a bit later.

Annabeth had fallen asleep on me, and I got bored because I didn't want to move and disturb her, so I fell asleep.

I dreamt what I deeply hope was a mortal dream. Because it really shouldn't be the future.

I dreamt I was running down a corridor, hand in hand with Annabeth. Something was chasing us. Annabeth was breathing hard and stumbling, trying to tell me to stop, she couldn't go on. "Please just save yourself," she pleaded.

"Are you crazy? I won't leave you. C'mon, we're almost there." I pulled her forward, and she stumbled forward, her face beaded with sweat. "Percy, please," she said, coughing. I pulled her to the side and stopped, and she fell down. I heard a roar. I picked Annabeth up-which was much too easy-and sprinted down the corridor, turning left into a fiery room. Alarmed, I turned around to backtrack, and saw what was chasing us.

My old buddy the Minotaur.

It roared and pounded its chest, and raced forward.

I jumped to the side and stumbled, the fire licking my arm. Annabeth's eyes fluttered, and she saw what was happening. "Percy, set me down," she said.

"No, I've got it," I assured her.

"Percy, set me down," she repeated.

"Annabeth-"

"Percy!" She jumped out of my arms and stood by my side. "Wimp!" she shouted at the bull man.

He charged. We both jumped to the side, and he raced forward straight into the fire. He came back out, however, all fired up-literally.

He lashed out and grabbed Annabeth by the neck. She coughed and started to gag, and I screamed, _"NO!" _

He squeezed. Annabeth screamed and she burst into golden dust.

_When monsters kill half-bloods, they don't stay and die. It's too bloody. They burst into golden dust._

I glared at the Minotaur. Seconds later he too was gold dust-except not nearly as beautiful or bright or delicate as Annabeth's; it was a dirty yellow.

But what was done is done. Annabeth was gone. I threw myself into the fire. The last thing I heard was someone shouting my name.

"Percy? Percy? Percy!"

I shuddered awake. Annabeth was staring at me with concern. "Are you okay? You were screaming my name."

I stared at her, imagining her in the hand of the Minotaur. "I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. "It's…nothing."

She didn't look convinced, but she nodded. "Okay," she said, slightly uneasy.

I couldn't stand it. I leaned forward so my face was inches away from Annabeth's. She gazed into my eyes, and I gazed into hers, and I asked her, "Could you kiss me?"

She leaned forward and gently placed her lips on mine. I closed my eyes and I could tell she did too. After a while, we angled better, and I reached my hands up to caress her hair. After a while, Annabeth did the same.

This was bliss.

Sometime later, we broke apart, both of us breathing hard. Somehow, Annabeth had ended up sitting in my lap, arms around my neck, me on bottom, hands tangled in her hair. She blushed. "I'm sorry, I'll just-"

"I-"

"Um-"

We both stopped. She slid off so we just sat side by side in silence.

The awkward stage…

Don't ask me what happened after that, because it's all a blur. All I know is that somehow we got past the awkward stage, because when I woke up, somehow I had a watery blanket-a surprisingly comfortable kelp one-wrapped around me, and Annabeth was underneath too. I moved my hand a bit and I found it was grasped by Annabeth's.

I looked up. Annabeth was still asleep, her back to me, and her golden hair was perfectly curled, curved back over her head and it cascaded over her shoulders, tangled in a good, attractive way…

I resisted the urge to kiss her. After all, I might've done plenty of that last "night" (I don't know what time it is; it _is _the labyrinth.)

I listened to Annabeth's breathing, making sure she _was _breathing. She was, but to my surprise, even despite my healing trick, her breathing had gotten shallower.

She shifted in her sleep, and flipped over, so her nose head was pressed into my chest. I liked this position, but it embarrassed me a bit to say so.

Annabeth woke up a bit later, and as her eyes opened, I couldn't help but notice how perfect her lashes were. She smiled, and I smiled back, genuinely.

I leaned forward and kissed her gently, and she closed her eyes with a sigh. Then I pulled away and asked, "Do you have _any _idea what happened 'last night?'"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm sorry if I, um, made you uncomfortable…"

"No, you didn't; I may not remember it, but I'm sure I liked it." I smiled crookedly.

"Liked it?"

"_Loved _it," I corrected.

She smiled and we kissed again. "I wish we could just stay here forever," she said.

"Me too," I agreed. "But…"

"…we can't," Annabeth finished.

I smiled, and we got our bubble cleaned up so my dad wouldn't be offended…or find out…oh jeez, could he see us in his domain!

I voiced my thought to Annabeth, and her face drained of color. "I'm sure he can't," I added quickly, because she looked like she might faint. She nodded.

"Now, you have to hold my hand during this part," I warned her, getting ready to descend.

"Really?"

"No, I just want you too," I admitted, and she smiled and gripped my hand.

We descended up, up, up, a bit farther than it probably should've been. Shouldn't we just go up a bit? Anyway, we kept going, and finally broke the surface. Our bubble became slightly transparent, and so did Thalia's and Nico's. Both me and Annabeth's jaws dropped.

While our bubbles weren't fully transparent yet, we could see in a bit, and what we saw were two figures shrouded in shadows, and they were on top of each other. As our bubble popped, I quickly waved my hand in the direction of the other bubble, and it instantly became solid again. "Nico," I called. "It's time to go!"

I couldn't hear anything; the bubble was soundproof, but me and Annabeth waited a bit. She rocked back and forth on her heels, and I turned and gave her a quick kiss. She smiled and did the same to me. We did that for a while until I realized we were playing Thalia and Nico's game. She seemed to realize how silly it must have looked too, because she stopped at the same time.

It _was _a fun game, though. Very addicting.

After a suitable amount of time, I waved my hand again. The bubble began to become clear, and soon after it popped.

Thalia's hair was a mess, all tangled and poofy and standing up. Her eyes were wild, but in a good, excited way. Her shirt was wrinkled and her jeans were sloppy, her sneakers untied.

Nico wasn't much better. His hair stood straight up in all directions, his eyes wild as Thalia's, and his shirt was rumpled, jeans falling because he hadn't buckled them correctly, one sneaker tied, the other falling off.

"Looks like someone had a good time," I smirked. Annabeth laughed.

Thalia looked embarrassed. Nico saved her by saying, "Hey, you aren't much better," playfully.

We both stiffened, and turned to each other. He was right. Annabeth's hair was tangled, but what I hadn't noticed when she was sleeping was that it was _really _tangled, and it stood up a bit; not as much as Thalia's though, and her eyes _were _a_bit _wild, but again, not as bad as Thalia. Her shirt was crinkled, her jeans on properly, and her feet were just resting in her sneakers, not really on. I guess I probably didn't look better.

She licked her finger and ran it through my hair, but I couldn't feel it; it must be sticking out pretty bad. She straightened my shirt and smoothed out her own, and I ran my fingers through her hair, trying in vain to get it at least a _little _better. We both tied our shoes and turned to see Thalia and Nico grooming each other also.

After we all finished tidying up, we began to walk outside, cautiously stepping over pieces of the wall, keeping our ears open and our eyes peeled for the monster that had forced us into blissful retreat. No sign of it, though. We walked out into the open, looking both ways like crossing a street, and continued on. After a brief discussion, we decided that we just wanted to get out of the maze, and that the brick tunnel with the voices of a crowd would be our best bet.

We walked in, stopping every once in a while to listen. The crowd was getting closer, but then suddenly it stopped.

We paused, alarmed. We took one step back, and the sound blasted loudly, so loud that we covered our ears. But to cover our ears, we had to let go, and suddenly Annabeth vanished.

"Annabeth!" I shouted, and looked around in alarm. Then suddenly, Thalia vanished too. Nico shouted her name, and then I got it. "Nico, hold my hand," I said, wincing at how weird that sounded.

He hadn't missed that either. "Why?" he whined.

"Just do it!" No sooner had he gripped my hand that I felt a claw grasp my shoulder, but the minute I came into contact with Nico, it glimpsed off like it had missed. Nico's eyes widened; apparently the same thing had just happened to him.

But despite the fact that _I _was safe, my eyes almost-almost-filled with tears, because this was _exactly _the kind of thing me and Annabeth had talked about before! Nico pat my back, and he said, "It's okay; we'll get them back, don't worry."

But I wasn't so sure.

**Any requests? How am I doing?**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 6: Failed Rescue

I stalked through the corridor, and let me tell you, it's one thing to walk down a corridor, gripping hands with a girl, especially one you like, so you don't die. Surprisingly, walking down a labyrinth with a _boy _who once wanted to kill you in your _last _trip to the labyrinth, gripping his hand so you won't get picked up by a weird monster is _entirely _different.

Weird, huh?

We were walking along for about an hour maybe, but even if I had a watch and it _said _an hour I couldn't trust it, because once again, time in the labyrinth is messed up. Anyway, we were walking for about an "hour" when suddenly it hit me.

"Nico, let go."

He stared at me like I'd finally lost it in this crazy place. "WHAT!"

"We have to let the monster catch us; but keep alert. We have to get to its nest. We'll never find it wandering around helplessly like this."

Nico gulped. Then he let go.

Almost immediately the claw gripped my shoulder, and I saw Nico get whisked up and up, and I felt the claws dig into my shoulder. My anger bubbled up as I thought about how surprised Annabeth must've been, and in her condition. I found it hard to resist the urge to slash its claw off, because if I did, I'd fall down, possibly die at this height, and if I didn't, the monster might not pick me up again…and then how would I save Annabeth?

I let myself get picked up and then suddenly the claw threw me. I sailed over a pit_-_uh_-_and crashed into a soaked nest. It was huge, like an arena. The ground was made out of tree branches, and I swear I saw a huge centipede crawl under a whole tree near the middle of the nest.

Some spots of the nest were wet and damp, even caved in to a point, and at the far end of the nest, a huge…_thing_ sat down, grooming itself.

It had a sharp face, and when its tongue flickered out, it was forked and dripped with poison instead of saliva. It's eyes were sharp like a bird's, and its nose stretched out and sharpened into a beak. Its head was roughly shaped like an eagles, and was covered in silver and golden feathers. Its neck continued down in an eagle like fashion, and it had two forty foot wings, tipped with gold but otherwise silvery and shimmering in the moonlight_-_

Hey. I must be outside…finally!

But I wasn't done yet.

The animal had a gigantic body, all in silver and gold, powdered in sparkles it seemed, and it had hooves, shiny, smooth, pure silver hooves.

But I had a feeling that wasn't what had grabbed me.

Sure enough, a shadow passed over me, and a forty-times-bigger one loomed overhead. It crashed down into the middle, sending giant centipedes and basilisks and snakes flying.

Now I knew.

The came raining down, and I quickly glanced around, trying to spot the others. We were at the four corners. Annabeth had crashed between two of the branches, and her lower body was stuck, and she flailed around, trying to get free as a snake came toward her. Thalia was at the other corner, trapped by a humongous centipede, leaning back to spit poison. Nico was slashing desperately at a basilisk, but his sword arm was caught in a twisting vine. The vine seemed to be growing fangs, and it opened its "mouth" wider and wider…

And me? The weird eagle horse stalked toward me…the littler one, thank the gods.

_Father, he cannot understand me, can he? _the eagle horse asked.

_No son, he is a mere half blood-he cannot speak our tongue, _the father assured.

_Or can he? _I butted in, and they both jumped.

_A son of Poseidon! _roared the eagle horse. _Eat him!_

_With pleasure, father, _the younger snarled, neighing and racing forward.

I leapt to the side, and the eagle horse neighed and screamed, _Death to Poseidon! _

"Wait!" I shouted, and the horse stopped. _You have five seconds, _it snarled.

"_Why_ do you want to kill me?" I asked.

The eagle horse stopped. _I-I don't know, _it stammered.

"So, why don't you just give me a lift?" I asked.

_WHAT ARE YOU DOING! _the father roared, bringing its hooves down.

Suddenly the son snapped to attention. _I want to kill you because you deceive me! _

I stumbled backward, swinging my sword. Suddenly something sank its teeth into my right leg_-_a basilisk.

I did what any person with a sense of touch would have done: I screamed.

The horse eagle shied away, neighing in annoyance at the pitch my voice had made, and hissed. The basilisk held on, hissing, injecting poison into me, charging it, and I crumpled to my knees as my vision wavered and fogged.

The last thing I saw was all of my friends fall; for good or not, I wouldn't know, because then I closed my eyes and blacked out.

**Sorry it's so short! I'll upload two today!**

**Any requests? How am I doing?**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 7: Annabeth's Powers

When I woke up, it was dark. I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. Then I heard Annabeth's voice…but it was so faint, it was almost like a memory.

_I love you, Percy._

I didn't say anything. About five minutes later, I whispered, "Me too."

When the door opened, it was the only light I'd seen in a while, and there was a shadow of a large man. I thought for sure I was dead. Then I remembered: Hades was _not _this kind.

"Hello?" I called.

The shadow moved, flickered, and disappeared.

The door closed.

I was about to doze off in this dark room-or whatever it was-when something brushed against me. I jumped and someone laughed lightly. It sort of sounded like a tinkling bell, almost. Like Annabeth's laugh.

Then it was gone.

I was really trying to block out everything. I kind of just wanted to die at this point.

_Hades? Nico? Could you maybe cut my death short now?_

I suddenly felt myself drain. _I was kidding, Hades!_

The draining feeling stopped.

I felt someone's breath on my ear, but by now I knew it was just wishful thinking.

_Don't kill yourself, Seaweed Brain._

I felt her kiss me. I tried to kiss her back, but the ghostly feeling left.

I refused to even pay attention to my ADHD thinking. So I didn't pay attention when someone whispered, "Percy?"

I fell down sort of fast, hitting my head on the gross floor. I tried to sleep.

"Percy?"

I rolled over, trying to block it out.

"Percy? Are you okay?"

I finally gave in and pushed myself up. A bright blue but fuzzy image shimmered at the other side of the room.

"Hello?" I said, scared it would go away.

The figure came closer. The sudden brightness made me wince.

"Sorry," the voice said, and the light dimmed a bit. The figure came a bit closer, slowly, until it was in front of me, kneeling with her hands on her knees.

"Annabeth?" I asked.

She smiled. "Hi," she said.

She glowed a light baby blue, and small tendrils wisped around her. Her clothes were torn and her face was filled with scratches and bruises, as well as all over her body.

"Are you…?" I asked, scared of the answer.

She smiled gently. "Dead? No Percy, I'm not. It's Nico's version of an Iris-message."

"Nico's there?"

Her smile flickered. "No," she said, "He showed me how. But Percy…" she trailed off.

"Yes?" I said, desperately wanting to reach out and touch her.

"I…I'm scared." She glanced behind her. "I don't know where I am. I'm in a dark room…like yours."

"I-"

Suddenly a bright light shone behind her; she was almost see-through now. "I'm sorry Percy, I have to-"

"What the-Nakamura! Get in here!" someone shouted.

"Annabeth-"

"I love you, Percy," she said sadly, and she flickered out like a candle.

The room went dark.

I don't know how much time passed. A minute. Hour. Day. Year? But suddenly the door flew open, and a shadow appeared, large and muscled. "Out, punk," it snarled.

I stumbled out into the light. The man hid in the shadows, but I could just make out a tattoo on his forearm: _Minerva. _A tattoo of Athena was on his arm…but she looked different somehow, in a way I couldn't explain.

He nudged me forward with a club. "Get moving, punk," he snarled. Snarls were apparently his language.

I stumbled forward, out into…sunshine? I hadn't seen it in so long I didn't know if it really was.

It _wasn't _sunshine. It was a harsh spotlight, shining down on me. Once I blinked, I saw Thalia and Nico tied up and gagged, tied to a post on the ground. They had a spotlight on them.

Then there was Annabeth. She hung in an almost identical scene to where I first found her in the labyrinth. Tightly packed pots of Greek fire circled her all around, and basilisks slithered around on them freely. Her mouth was gagged, her feet tied and her arms above her head, tied to the post she was bound on. She had a big cut on her forehead. Her chest was a crimson mess, and her legs were littered with scratches and bruises, and on her right leg, an identical basilisk bite to mine was swelling and turning green and pink.

I felt myself fill with rage. A barrel of water trembled, and flew up, crashing down into a watery splash. The buff dude glared at me and said, "I'd watch ya powers, punk. They've got peoples who'd kill they best bud for someone like you's."

I was steaming, but I did as he was told.

He tied me to my own post, but the ropes were so slack I could slip out with a twist. "I'm rooting for ya," the buff man told me quietly. "When the gong…gongs, fly out and save your little friends. Hitchhike it out of here-ya afterwards."

I was so stunned, but the guy tied my feet and arms loosely too, and continued. "There'll be a guy out back with some refreshment stuff. Grab it and _run _like you's never run before."

"How can I know to trust you? It could be a trap."

He raised his eyebrows. "It could," he said. "You won't know. But if you's stay here-ya, then you're sure to die. At least if you run, you've got a chance."

I groaned. I hate logic.

He raised his eyebrows. "Hate logic huh?" When I stared at him, opened mouthed, he added, "Daughter of Minerva. Like your girlfriend."

"What? Minerva? And wait, she's not-"

But Buff Guy was gone.

"And now we shall kill the Pluto and Jupiter!"

A British looking man waved his axe in the air. "Kill Pluto and Jupi-tah! Kill Pluto and Jupi-tah!"

Some drunken man waved his dagger in the air, staggering toward Nico and Thalia. He cackled and practically threw himself at their post. Just as the blade was about to run Thalia through, Nico closed his eyes. I thought, _He's just gonna close his eyes while his girlfriend gets killed! _But suddenly a dark shadow wrapped around the two of them, and when the smoke cleared, they were gone.

The crowd gasped, and I used the distraction to slip out of my ropes. I stepped out and raced over to Annabeth. Her eyes widened, and her eyes said, _Please, Percy, really. Go. _

I glared down at the pots, ignoring Annabeth. How was I gonna get over them? I saw the barrel again, and I concentrated on it. It levitated over to me and I got on top of it, hovering carefully above. It went above the fire, and the basilisks hissed at me. I slowly went to Annabeth, and I unhooked her dagger from her belt. She shook her head, a tear cascading down her cheek, and I slit the gag from her mouth. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she stared at me. "Percy," she started.

Something sharp stabbed through my back, and I was horrified to see the blade push through the front of my shirt. The breath rushed out of me, and Annabeth sobbed. I felt myself get lifted up, the barrel of water spinning away from beneath me and the fire rushed higher. Someone threw me against a post, and fire spun around me.

Annabeth screamed and started kicking at the post desperately. Two of the buff dudes that looked disturbingly like Buff Dude grabbed her legs and began to gag her again. Her eyes flared and she flipped her dagger. It flew into the air, and to my surprise, it spiraled downward, and cut through her leg ropes. She balled her fists and shook her arms; the bounds broke and she fell to the ground, for a horrible moment disappearing behind the Greek fire. Then she shot up, a tornado of gray wind spiraling beneath her. She shot forward and arched over me, and suddenly I heard Buff Dude's voice shout, "AAYAA!" and he flew into the Greek fire. I looked away, and winced. The blade was still embedded in my skin.

Annabeth swooped down and picked me up by the shoulders. We soared high, and burst through the ceiling. The city of NYC was below us. As we lowered down and touched the ground behind the Lotus Casino, Annabeth whispered, "Now _you _owe _me._"

I managed a faint smile and said, "Yeah."

She kissed me lightly. "Don't die on me, Seaweed Brain."

I blacked out.

**Sorry it's so short! I'll upload two today!**

**Any requests? How am I doing?**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 8: Cleaning Up and Getting Acquainted

When I woke up, I felt my chest wrapped in a tight cast. My forehead had a wet towel on it, and my leg was wrapped too. I glanced around. It was a nice room. Another bed was to the right of me. A fridge stood in the corner, a wide screen TV hung on the wall, and a desk and some big, plush chairs on wheels were in the corner. Two bathrooms were there-thank the gods-and I heard the shower running in the left one. Five shopping bags sat in the other corner, but I couldn't see the labels. I was about to get up and see, so I sat up and the room spun around like a top. I must've made a noise, because suddenly the shower shut off and I heard Annabeth's voice say, "Percy? Are you alright?" She stepped out of the bathroom, and I flopped straight back onto the pillows.

Her golden hair dripped with water, and cascaded down her bare shoulders. A towel was wrapped around her, tucked under her arms, and it stopped just below her thighs. She smiled wearily, but I was sad to see that almost her entire body was covered in scratches and bruises.

"You shouldn't sit up yet," she advised, stepping by the bed to fix my pillows. When she was done, she curved my damp hair behind my ear. "You're gonna give yourself a headache," she whispered, her fingers lingering behind my ear.

I liked the feeling of her fingers there, so I tried to keep her talking. "But if I have a headache, then you can keep tending to me."

She smiled, her finger tracing down from my ear to my lower jaw. Wherever her finger touched, my skin tingled with electricity. She told me quietly, "I'd love that."

So I sat up. The room spun like a tornado, but then Annabeth leaned in and kissed me, and it didn't matter.

I raised my hands up and tangled them in her hair, and she smiled and tangled her own hands in _my _hair. Annabeth put one knee up on the bed next to me, then the other, and I turned sideways so Annabeth was lying next to me. She threw one leg over mine under the blanket, and scooted closer. It must've been ten minutes before we finally broke apart.

Annabeth smiled at me. "I love you, Percy."

I kissed her nose. She closed her eyes. "Me too, Annabeth."

She flipped over and I pulled her closer. Her hair was pressed up against my nose. It smelled like lemons ad honeydew.

I put my arm around her waist, and she snuggled closer. She sighed, and I kissed the back of her neck. I felt her body shudder. She whispered, "Mmm." I listened to her breathing. After a while, her breathing evened out.

I closed my eyes. It was kind of hard to breathe. My chest hurt. So did my right leg. But it was almost as if Annabeth's presence was healing me. I breathed in her essence. My chest felt better already.

I don't know how long I lay there peacefully, but eventually Annabeth woke up. She smiled, and said, "Sorry."

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"I keep falling asleep. You must be so bored…"

"What? No! I know how…tired you've been feeling lately. Poison does that to you," I soothed.

She managed a smile. "Thanks," she said, and we kissed a nice, soft quick one.

Someone knocked on the door. Annabeth opened her eyes and whispered, "Are you expecting anyone?"

I shook my head and mouthed, _You? _

She shook her head. We both stumbled out of the bed, and I told Annabeth to go to the bathroom and get dressed. I stumbled to the door and opened the door cautiously.

Thalia and Nico were practically stripping in the hallway. They were gripping each other's shirts hungrily, and I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

They stumbled away from each other, Thalia fixing her shirt, Nico straightening his collar. They both were blushing furiously.

"Finally tracked you down," Thalia mumbled, smoothing out her shirt. I noticed they were both wearing new clothes and had a suitcase. Thalia wore a flower shirt with some blue jeans and had her hair tied up in the half-up half-down thing, and purple sneakers. Nico wore a dark shirt that said _Death is Everywhere _and a black jacket, and some black jeans with black converse. Jeez, he'd be burning up in no time.

"When they were about to crack Thalia open, I 'banished' us to the underworld. Took us an hour to get out, then we took about, oh an hour or so to hang out and get some stuff like clothes and toiletries, and now-well, here we are."

"It's only been a day since…right?"

"Yeah. I see Annabeth spoiled you rich. She got things from everywhere from Longs to Macy's to _Armani Exchange_!"

_WHAT! _"Where do you think she-"

"Got the money? Annabeth's pretty resourceful, Percy. We may never know."

At that moment, Annabeth decided to appear. She wore a white satin dress that ended at her knees with ruffles and white high heels. Her hair was curled and fell down her shoulders, and her stormy gray eyes seemed brighter than Apollo's chariot. She glanced at Nico and Thalia and said, "Why aren't you guys dressed?"

"Where are we going?" I asked, my eyes not leaving her legs. Why was her skin spotless? It had been so beat up earlier…

"We're going to somewhere called _Shay an Re. _It's a fancy restaurant, and we're meeting all the couples there-they won't let you in if you're not a couple.

"So the couples are Silena and Beckendorf-"

Beckendorf _had _died on _The Princess Andromeda_, but Hades was so ecstatic that he and his son had played a major role in the defeating of the titan king's army, that he granted many souls who had died a second chance on earth as their old self.

"-Travis and Katie…" Her voice trailed off but she finished, "Grover and Juniper, and Tyson found someone, another Cyclops, named Miranda-"

Strange…but okay.

"-Bianca and Castor-"

Two dead people given a second chance. Bianca had not rejoined the hunters; she'd gone back to camp and really hit it off with Castor. They didn't have a crazed relationship where all they wanted was…you know. They had a cute relationship, and they were really close, on the icy brink of a couple.

"-Clarisse and Chris, Drew and Ethan-"

A grudging couple, but they're, in a way, perfect for each other. They both have evil plans for at least one person.

"-and some couples from that mission last year? Remember? That's actually what this meeting is about, Gaea, so the others are coming-Jason Grace and Piper McLean, Leo Valdez and Reyna something, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang. These pairs are sharing rooms: Clarisse, Chris, Drew, and Ethan; Grover, Juniper, Tyson, and Miranda; you, me, Thalia, Nico; Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Leo, Jason, and Piper; and Connor, Lacy, Travis, and Katie. For the next hotel we go to; those are the pairs.

"Oh, and I'm sorry, Is it okay; for the couples, I paired you and Nico together, Thalia?"

Thalia blushed, and Nico smiled. "It's fine," they said at the same time, which made them blush more.

She turned to me and I saw she was blushing even darker than Nico and Thalia. "And, um, I can um, change it if you, um, want to, but I, um, paired us up…Is that o-"

"Yes," I said, and I blushed. Too soon…

Annabeth smiled, and she said, "Well, I should help you get changed. Thalia and Nico, you can come in-you have the left side; the left bathroom, left rolling chair, left bed. Percy and I get the right."

They both wheeled their suitcases in and lugged some shopping bags I hadn't seen earlier in and set them down by their bed. They dug in their own _Armani Exchange _bags and got out some fancy clothes, and locked themselves in the bathroom.

I walked over to Annabeth, who was digging in our _Armani Exchange _bag. She finally found what she was looking for, and pulled it out.

A pair of black dress pants, and a black tuxedo with a green tie.

"The same color as your eyes," she said, almost dreamily.

I smiled and she led me into the bathroom. She fiddled with one of her curls as I changed into the pants, and I slipped the dress ones over my calf one. But she glanced over when I was switching shirts. I heard her gasp and I felt her finger run down my back. I shuddered and she drew her hand away. "Sorry," she murmured. "It's just…"

"What?" I asked, self conscious. What was on my back?

"Th…There's a long scratch on your back…a…are you…okay?"

I hadn't even noticed. I told her that.

She turned around and opened the cabinet under the sink. "It must be from the…chest wound," she said to herself, and took out something, and opened it. A tube of antibiotic.

"The ambrosia's outside…I don't think it'd fit this wound anyway; it's more of something that just needs healing." She unwrapped the bandage and set it aside; she put some ointment on her fingers; beginning to rub it on my back. I shuddered again, and she said, "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

I could feel the heat rushing to my face. "No, it just…was cold." True, too.

She continued to apply the ointment. I smiled and relaxed, and soon I heard her cap it. She smiled and came around to the front of me, helping me into the suit. I threaded the tie myself; but she helped me straighten it. Her hands lingered on the tie, and she stared down at it, fingering it distractedly. I brought my hands up to hers, holding her hands in mine, and she looked up and met my eyes. I smiled and kissed her. She blushed and smoothed out my shirt.

"How did you make your bandages and cuts go away?" I asked, running my hands across her arm. It still felt banged up, but it looked smooth as ever.

"What? Oh, that. Here…" She looked me over. "Actually, you're pretty covered up already…oh, your face…" She reached her hand up and murmured something under her breath, and ran her fingers on all the cuts and bruises. One was over my eye, and her fingers delicately flew over it, then over one by my lower jaw, then one by my ear, and so on. I knew I had split lips, so I mentioned it. Annabeth rolled her eyes and leaned in, her lips barely brushing mine, and then she pulled away, her long lashes blinking. She straightened my tie one more time and we walked out.

Thalia and Nico were still in the bathroom, and at first I figured that was because Annabeth had already been dressed; Thalia hadn't. That theory went out the window when we sat down on the edge of the bed looked for the shoes in our Macy's bag and someone thumped from the inside of the bathroom to the bedroom wall (someone slammed against the wall) and we both heard Nico shout, "Gods, Thalia!" in one of those weird cloud-nine-voices.

We tried to ignore it and kept looking for our shoes. They kept shouting, but I finally lost it when they started groaning.

I was about to shout _shut up! _when Annabeth beat me to it. "Will you keep it down!" she snarled.

They stopped.

Annabeth sighed. She squeezed her eyes shut. I knew her leg was bothering her. She put her head on my shoulder.

The noises started up again, and I sighed now, taking out my shoes. I slipped them on and Annabeth got out a new comb from longs. She ripped open the packaging and got up to throw it away. When she sat back down, she told me to turn around. I felt her brush my hair.

Considering I hadn't taken a shower in awhile, there was a lot of tangles. Finally she gave up and told me to go take a shower.

"There's some conditioner in the cabinet," she called after me. "You should try it."

"I will," I promised, closing the door behind me.

I took the conditioner out, and some body wash and shampoo. The shower water was nice and warm; I let it just rain down on me for awhile.

I'd just gotten out of the shower when someone knocked on the door. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself, and said, "Yeah?"

"Are you almost done?" Annabeth called.

"Yeah," I assured her, stepping out. She handed me my clothes, and I came back out after I was done.

She straightened my tie again, complaining that it was defective, and then helped me with my shoes. I complained they looked to old-man-ish and fancy, and she told me Apollo had recommended them.

I shut up.

She got another bag, and it was labeled _Accessories. _I didn't like the sound of that.

She took out a silver circlet, sort of like the Hunters', but not. She gave it to me, and I couldn't help it.

"I have to _wear that!"_

She rolled her eyes. "No, dummy. Can you help me put it on?"

I calmed down. "Oh. Yeah, yeah, sure."

She turned around and I placed it on her head. It shimmered, and glowed a dim silver.

She dug into the bag again and brought out a bottle of what looked like green glitter. She uncapped it and moved as if to put it on my head.

"Oh no," I said, dancing away, "You're not putting _glitter _on my head!"

She rolled her eyes and chased after me, laughing as I leapt over luggage and tripped over discarded clothes. Finally, I crashed into Thalia's suitcase, and she tackled me to the floor. I was stuck on m back, and she sat on me, shaking the glitter in my hair. I complained, but she just laughed. I wondered what the glitter did.

I shook my hair out as soon as we both got up, and it flew all over the room. Some landed on Annabeth, and where it landed, she radiated a dim green light.

She looked down at her arms wearily. It looked strange; it seemed like she was bursting green light in some spots. "Percy," she whined, tackling me again, this time onto the bed. I laughed, and so did she. And soon we found ourselves tangled up in the blanket. She smiled, and untangled herself.

"Now my dress is wrinkled," she grumbled, but she didn't sound very sorry.

I stood up, and we straightened each other's rumpled clothes out. She glanced at the door where Nico and Thalia were. "They should be out by now," she said, sounding worried.

I thought about it. Maybe they weren't _playing, _maybe a monster had flashed in and abducted them.

She went to our bed and dug into the pillowcase, drawing her knife.

I stared at her. "Your _knife _was in the _pillowcase! _What if it stabbed through?"

She shrugged. "We'd be out of luck."

I rolled my eyes and drew Riptide. We walked slowly to their bathroom, and put our ears to the door. Nothing.

We glanced at each other. Then we kicked open the door.

Thalia and Nico looked up from the bathtub. They desperately tried to yank the curtain closed, but it was too late.

Annabeth screamed, and we stumbled backwards out of the bathroom, landing on our butts. The bathroom door slammed closed.

We breathed hard.

"I'm scarred," Annabeth muttered.

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	9. Chapter 9

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 9: Gossip or Not

After the episode, Annabeth sat me down on our bed and got the comb out. She began to comb my hair.

"See? Now that you've taken a shower, it's not that bad," she said, the comb gently slipping through.

I nodded, which resulted in the comb getting stuck near the middle. Annabeth got it out, though.

She ran it through again, making sure it didn't get stuck by running her hands on the top, feeling for tangles. After a while, I said, "That was awkward, wasn't it?"

She hit a snarl, but it got out painlessly. "Getting the brush stuck in your hair? No surprise."

"Hey," I pouted, but she laughed and said, "Kidding." I continued. "No, I meant…well… um… "

"Nico and Thalia? Yeah, I didn't know…oh." She paused. "I wonder if Thalia's still a Huntress."

I hadn't thought about that. "I don't think so. Wouldn't that be…I don't know."

She sighed, but it was a thoughtful one, like she was remembering something happy. "Remember when you thought I was becoming a Hunter?"

I closed my eyes. "I was kind of scared you really would."

I could picture her smiling. "But I didn't," she said, "Because then I'd have to give up you." She leaned forward and kissed me.

"Remember when you though I was becoming a god?" I asked, turning around to see her reaction. The brush flew out of her hands, getting caught in my hair, but I wanted to know what she looked like when she replied.

The color drained from her face. Nice. "Yes," she whispered. "I was terrified."

"But I didn't," I said, not sure why I was whispering. "I didn't…because…"

I found myself leaning toward Annabeth. She was leaning toward me too. Our noses were almost touching, our eyes never leaving each other's.

"Because?" Annabeth said softly.

"Because…" Our noses _were _touching now. "Because I…I love you. And…becoming a god…would've meant…losing you."

Annabeth smiled and closed her eyes. I leaned forward and kissed her, not some crazy, hungry, Nico-Thalia kiss, but a soft, slow one. Annabeth responded, kissing me back, and soon she was pressed up against the wall, my hands on either side of her, fingers making the wall lean in, Annabeth pressing her hands into the bed to stay up. But somewhere along the line, her elbows gave out, and she fell straight into the bed. Suddenly, I lost my grip on the wall and crashed down on top of her. She smiled as she stared into my eyes, and tangled her hands into my just-brushed hair. The comb fell out somewhere.

"Ahem."

We flew apart from each other, and saw Thalia and Nico standing uncomfortably in the doorway. We slid off the bed and straightened (for the umpteenth time) each other's clothes.

"Looks like you'll need to comb his hair again," Thalia snickered.

How long had they been watching? I saw Annabeth's face turn bright red, but I knew this wasn't an offensive attack. It was a playful teasing. "And maybe you guys can take another shower…or maybe a first, since you wasted the first?"

It was Thalia's turn to blush. I rolled my eyes and sat down on the bed, Annabeth recovering and picking up the comb off the floor. She brushed my hair, chatting endlessly with Thalia, who had seated Nico down on their bed, brushing his hair. She was getting excited about whatever they were chattering about though, and was yanking Nico's hair with every word. Annabeth, meanwhile, was gentle, fingering my hair every once in a while, tickling my neck sometimes, causing me to start laughing while Nico glanced at me skeptically.

I was half listening to Thalia and Annabeth's conversation; something about the meeting tonight at _Shay an Re, _and they were babbling on and on about how everyone was with their "dates." Suddenly I heard Nico say, "Percy? Percy? Percy!"

I snapped out of the trance. "What?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Caught up in demigod gossip?"

My face burned. "What? No, I-"

"I was joking," he interrupted, laughing. Suddenly Thalia squealed-something about Silena-and Nico's hair got yanked backward, and he yelped in surprise-and possibly- pain.

After Nico had recovered from very nearly losing a clump of his hair, he continued as if nothing had happened. "Who do you think these people are? The ones Annabeth mentioned, you know, the Jason and Reyna and other peoples something or others?"

"She told us. Remember? Last mission, Camp Jupiter? Oh wait-you were too busy undressing Thalia with your eyes!"

I whispered it so Thalia wouldn't be embarrassed.

Nico didn't blush, he just rolled his eyes, though it looked a bit forced. "Yeah, yeah, make fun¾you and Annabeth almost got around to that."

"Did not! It's _way _too soon."

"Really? You guys would've done that-except me and Thalia interrupted you."

"No! we've been very good at controlling ourselves-unlike you, mister bathtub."

Nico's face burned. "That's different."

"Yeah. You used the bathtub."

"And you used the bed."

"We didn't _do _it! We are not going to anytime soon, because we're not crazy!"

Nico shrugged. "I am." He started shivering with anticipation. "I am _so_ crazy. Very crazy. Very, very crazy. Jungle crazy. Wild crazy. Crazy enough to-"

"Shut up you sick disgusting perv!" I hissed. Thalia was still chattering endlessly, but one loud shout would give Nico's weird mood away.

Nico shut up, but he kept muttering under his breath, his pupils dilating like a lovesick idiot.

I tuned out Nico's fanatic ratings, and tuned in to Thalia and Annabeth long winded conversation.

"…And I'm sure Beckendorf wants to kiss her, but since they've just gotten back from the dead, I really don't know. Who knows what they did down there?" Thalia babbled on.

"You shouldn't really talk that way. Silena and Beckendorf are very well-behaved people," Annabeth remarked.

"Yeah, well, having seen what you and Percy could do alone, I'm not sure I could put it past them," Thalia said, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey, we weren't actually doing anything," Annabeth said, and I had a feeing she was blushing.

"Yeah, yet," Thalia said, laughing.

"Hey, you shouldn't be talking," Annabeth countered, and I knew what she was going to say before she said it. "Miss bathtub."

Thalia looked like she was burning up. "That's different."

"Yeah. Right."

"Really! I bet if me and Nico hadn't walked in, you would've stripped on the spot!"

"Not! We're going to wait-we're mature, unlike you guys!"

"At least we're not afraid to show our wild side," Thalia said, yanking a tangle out of Nico's hair. Instead of wincing though, this time he stuck his tongue out and stared at the wall, eyes wide, laughing manically softly.

"Nope, that's not your problem. You people will show your _wild side _to everyone who walks in!" Annabeth said, laughing.

"I wouldn't be talking. You messed up Percy's hair three times!"

Annabeth stopped brushing my hair, not entirely, but sort of, playing with a lock of my hair. She tickled my neck through it. I smiled this time, trying to control myself. She laughed softly so only I could hear-like a tinkling bell-and continued to regularly brush my hair.

"I know," Annabeth said softly.

I fell asleep to Annabeth's gentle strokes through my hair and their boring talk about the other couples, and if Reyna was jealous of Piper, etc, etc.

I woke up lying in the bed, the blanket pulled over me, Annabeth looking at me thoughtfully. She was holding my hand under the blanket, her fingers laced through mine. She sat on the edge of the bed.

"Wakey, wakey," she whispered. "Time to go."

After running a brush through my hair once and telling me it was useless; my hair would get messed up one way or another, we walked out and slipped on our shoes. Annabeth said they had started to hurt her feet and she'd taken them off when I'd fell asleep, and she'd taken mine off when I almost kicked her in the face in my sleep.

She tied my shoes and told me after what happened I had fell asleep. Nico had fallen asleep almost two minutes later, and the two girls had finished brushing our hair and went to go take another shower. They'd tucked us in before though, and taken off our shoes. Then they'd come back out and talked for a bit, and slipped in the bed for a nap themselves.

"We're gonna be up all night," she told me.

Then they woke up and took another shower because they felt grimy, and smoothed out their clothes, tied their shoes and woke us up.

"Thalia and Nico are downstairs," Annabeth told me as we walked out the door. "She said she needed to use the bathroom."

"But there's a-"

She gave me a look.

"Oh," I said, uncomfortable.

We grabbed our suitcases-I noticed Thalia and Nico's stuff was already gone-and shoved the shopping bags inside. We stumbled outside.

We walked to the elevator and went down. I was about to suggest we go and get the others, but I saw them snuggling on the lobby couch.

"He-ey," Annabeth hollered as we walked toward them, and they looked up wearily. The quickly rolled away from each other and sat on opposite sides of the couch.

"Just can't stay away from each other," Annabeth laughed. Thalia glanced lovingly at Nico, who was tying his shoes. "Yeah," she sighed.

As they stared at each other-Nico and Thalia-I picked up a sickly sweet smell. It kind of made me dizzy, and I stumbled backwards into Annabeth's arms. She stumbled backward, and we fell into the big chair. She helped me up and steadied me, but I still felt sort of dizzy.

"Well, we better go," Annabeth said, gripping my hand, and Thalia and Nico stood up. They saw me stumble and grabbed both their bags and ours, and we walked toward the door and saw a black limousine pull up.

"That's not…" I glanced at Annabeth.

She raised her eyebrows. "Our ride? It is. Like it?"

"How'd you-"

"Argus," she said, smiling. "Genius, huh?"

"Yeah!" I said, smiling as I ran to the limousine like an eight year old.

A man in a tuxedo and chauffeur hat stepped out, greeting me with raised eyebrows. "Hello sir," he said. "Welcome to-"

"Annabeth!" I shouted, pressing my face against the glass. "You gotta see this! It's awesome!"

Annabeth rushed up behind me and pulled me away from the window, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Ha-ha," she said, though it sounded a bit forced; her voice shook a bit. She steadied me again, and told Thalia and Nico to get in first. She looked at the chauffeur and said, "I've got it."

After he left, and put our stuff into the trunk, Annabeth turned me toward her and looked me in the eye. "What is wrong with you, Percy?" she asked, concerned.

"What? No way Annabel, I am _fine. _Finer than a bird. Finer than a minotaur. I am _fine. _By the way, have I ever told you I _love _you?"

"Percy?" Annabeth said, looking concerned.

"_Yes?" _I said, smiling. I felt something wet on my collar. Drool.

"_Percy_," she said, digging in her purse, and pulling out some golden squares in a snack bag. She took one out. "Open your mouth, Percy," she whispered, and I obeyed, and she popped it in. It tasted like my mom's blue chocolate chip cookies. "I wanna 'nother one," I said, reaching for her bag.

"No, no, no, no," she sad, pulling it away gently. She took my hand and squeezed it. "Feeling better?"

My head still felt sort of fuzzy. I smiled and tried to say something, like, "Kind of" but it came out as, "Kay uh."

Annabeth's eyes gazed into mine, and she pulled me into our seat.

The door closed and we began to move. I clapped my hands and said, "YAY!" I giggled- what!-and started to play with my tie.

I noticed Nico and Thalia staring at me. I smiled and waved, and said, "_Hi._" Thalia switched seats with Nico and started talking to Annabeth, glancing at me every once in a while.

Nico clapped his hand on my knee. My tongue lolled out like a dog. "So," he said, his eyebrows doing a little nervous dance, "How're you doing?"

I smiled, but some drool fell from my mouth and landed on my pants. I stared down at it forlornly.

"Fine," I said, but it came out like "_FFFFAAAAIIII." _

Nico wrung his hands. "Maybe you should…uh…clean up a bit. Here's a napkin," he added, handing me one.

I wiped my mouth and pants leg, and gave the napkin back. He took it between two fingers and dropped it in a little garbage can.

Annabeth switched seats with Thalia, then with Nico, so she was sitting next to me. She closed the curtain so only we could see each other; no one else could see us; and put her hand on my knee. "Hi Percy," she said, smiling.

I smiled like a dope. "_Hi,_" I slurred.

She leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips; then she pulled away. "Feeling better?" she asked again.

My head cleared. Everything looked sharper. Everyone came into focus. Sounds flowed into my ears, and my senses came alive. Annabeth's hand on my knee, electricity; the air around me, light and clear; my lips bursting with energy from Annabeth's kiss.

"Yeah," I said, my voice sounding nice and clear now.

She smiled and kissed me again, lightly. When she pulled away, the world burst with color.

"What happened?" I asked.

She looked at her hand, the one on my knee. "You were poisoned by an _Feline_-spelled like 'feline,' as in cat, but pronounced 'fey lean ay.' It's a charming fey like person, usually in the form of a young, beautiful girl, and she breathes a sickly sweet scent that makes young males go dopey. Usually, they'll get so disoriented and end up listening to her musical voice, and then she'll give them a reason to let her kill you. Like the one in the labyrinth…I think it's the same one…she's hunting you down."

Annabeth looked like she was close to tears. "I don't want to lose you, Percy. I couldn't bare it if I did."

"But you won't," I assured her, "Because I'm too cunning to-"

I stopped. Annabeth's eyes were brimming with tears. Some fell down her cheeks and she started to cry.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, hugging Annabeth close to me.

"You-You don't understand," she sniffed. "The-The _Feline _never fails…she's cunning, and knows your deepest secrets and your weaknesses and fears. She-She'll destroy you!"

"Yeah, and I'll be the first hero to survive," I told her. I saw her smile, but if I had to choose, I'd say it looked a bit forced.

**How am I doing? Review!**

**I think I might tie this up soon…I'm not sure. **

**Please tell me what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 10: Sweet Room

"Our warmest greetings, from the staff of _Shay an Re. _Your rooms are on the 53rd floor. Here are four keys, as you've requested, Ms. Chase.

"Complimentary food is in your room. We've filled your fridge. Feel free to take the bathroom toiletries, and anything else.

"Your companions are also on the 53rd floor. We've reserved the floor for your guests.

"Dinner is at 8:30. We hope you enjoy your stay."

Annabeth had her arm around my waist; I was still kind of dizzy. We held our suitcases and my hand held on to the handle so tight my knuckles turned bone white. The room spun around a bit. Annabeth caught me as I almost crashed into the wall.

"Is your date okay?" the man asked. He was dressed in a black and white tuxedo with black dress pants and loafers. His hair was slicked back. "We have a professional nurse in the back."

Annabeth stiffened. "Nurse? As in woman?"

The man had a strange look on his face, like he didn't quite believe Annabeth was stable. Maybe she was like her date; the drunken teenage boy. "Yes, ma'am, nurses are usually woman."

Annabeth scowled. "He's fine," she snapped.

As we grouped into the elevator, the doors closed and the elevator dinged as it slowly descended up to our floor. Suddenly, it jerked, and we all pitched forward and slammed into the doors.

It shuddered, and for a horrible moment I thought, _It's going to fall! _But then it began to descend once more.

I didn't feel very good. The elevator spun like a revolving door. I stumbled and almost met the doors again, but Annabeth gripped my hand and pulled me back. I stood, back pressed up against the wall, and slid down, putting my head between my knees.

When the doors finally opened, Annabeth shook me lightly and we got out and grabbed our suitcases. We walked down the halls, looking for our number; 5345. When we found out, Annabeth slid her card in and the door opened.

It was the nicest place I'd ever been. It was pretty big; it had two king size beds, and a closet with hangers and an ironing board, and an actual iron. There was one bathroom right by the door, and one deeper in. There were abstract pictures on the wall and paintings of flowers and crashing waves, and a balcony overlooking the ocean. A large dresser with sixteen drawers was against the wall opposite to the beds, and there was a giant cabinet on the top with a game controller, and a flat screen TV. It had a TV guide and a GAMER guide, and a vanity table to the left with a heart shaped mirror, and four drawers full of brand new makeup and glitter and blush and all that girly stuff, and to the right, was an enormous fridge-full of soda and snacks and crackers and other goodies, just like the man had promised.

Nico whistled. "_Sweet_," he said.

Thalia nodded. "Me and Nico call the bed and bathroom closer to the door," she said quickly.

Annabeth nodded. "Percy and I'll have the bed and bathroom near the balcony."

The drawers under the flat screen were in two columns: two columns of eight. We got the side closer to the balcony. We decided we'd do first-person-there for the TV turns.

"What if _we _want to go on the balcony?" Nico asked.

"You won't," Thalia told him, and Nico got the dopey look on his face.

As we set up our room (Annabeth told us she'd booked the whole floor for a month; but she wouldn't tell us where'd she got the money) I wondered why Annabeth had been so worried earlier. We defeated a titan. We defeated her best friend, possible ex-crush, idol, mentor, tutor, and "brother." We'd opposed the gods; gotten them to change their ways. I'd defeated a minotaur. She defeated a Cyclops at age _seven. _Why didn't she have faith in us?

_You don't understand. The Feline never fails. She's cunning, and knows your deepest secrets and your weaknesses and fears. She'll destroy you!_

What could any monster do that's so bad as to make Annabeth feel scared?

_Like the one in the labyrinth…I think it's the same one…she's hunting you down._

_The same one._

_~The one that almost killed you~_

I straightened the bed sheets one last time. Then I walked onto the balcony.

Chapter 11: What Happens When I'm "Not Looking"

I sat down in the chair; one of the nice lean-back-pop-up-umbrella-built-in-drink-holder chairs. There were four; one for each of us. I tipped the umbrella forward so it covered my eyes to onlookers, but I could see inside. Another umbrella popped up in the back, blocking the midday sun. I glanced at a clock on the glass table on the balcony. It read 12:17.

I listened and watched the activities in the room. They thought I fell asleep. Let's see what they did while I was 'asleep.'

Annabeth went outside to get ice, and Thalia turned to Nico.

"A month?" she asked.

"Yeah," Nico said, looking in the fridge. He came back out with a 7up. "So?"

"Where'd she get the money?" she said curiously.

"Why would I know?" Nico said, trying to open the bottle. He shook it. I heard the bubbles fizzle.

"Nico!" Thalia screamed, snatching the bottle away. She opened it, and I thanked the gods they were on _their _side. The bottle exploded, splashing Thalia in the face, and wetting the bed, ceiling, and Nico's shirt. When the explosion stopped, Thalia's mouth was open in surprise.

"Nico," she growled.

Nico tried to apologize. "Hey, _you _were the one who took it-"

Thalia didn't listen. She tackled him onto the bed, pinning him down by putting her arms on either side of him. She growled like the Hunter's wolf. Maybe she was calling hers. Nico looked nervous. "Um, sorry?"

I was confused. Was she angry or taunting? I shifted sort of uncomfortably in my seat. Good show, but things might get out of hand soon, in two ways.

Thalia spread her legs onto either side of Nico's waist, and sat up. She smiled-not normally; either seductively or fiercely; not sure yet-and her fingers played with her collar; near the buttoned part. I had an idea of what was coming.

Yup.

She pulled the two parts of the shirt apart. It unbuttoned with a _snap! _and her black bra appeared.

I shifted again.

Nico's eyes bugged out of his head. Thalia smiled-seductively-and leaned forward to play with Nico's collar. She unbuttoned his, going down until it was gone.

I kind of felt like I was intruding; but I couldn't look away. I _really really _wanted to; but it's like when you're watching a TV show you don't want to; it kind of pulls you in.

She leaned forward, kissing his chest, and Nico started laughing. Eventually, after long, awkward stages that made me squirm and want to scream, they rolled around, Thalia just in her bra and underwear, Nico in his boxers. They were so much into it they didn't notice (or seem to) when they fell off the bed. They fell off the side where I couldn't see.

It was at that moment that Annabeth decided to come back; I stared, curious. What was happening?

Annabeth opened the door, supposedly in a position where she would have a clear view of Thalia and Nico; but I really didn't know what they were doing, or if they rolled under the bed or something.

Annabeth was smiling, holding the ice, but then her gaze traveled slightly down, in the approximate area where Thalia and Nico should be.

Annabeth dropped the ice and screamed.

I lowered the umbrella.

After Nico and Thalia scrambled into their clothes, Nico got so embarrassed he announced he was going to take a shower.

As soon as he closed the door, Thalia sat down on her bed and said, "Look, Annabeth-"

"No, I just want to get the image out of my head," Annabeth interrupted, covering her eyes. "Please, talk about something else…"

Thalia laughed. "Ah, I'm not a Hunter anymore?" She sounded breath caught in her throat. "How?" she squeaked.

Thalia shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the bathroom door. "Well," she whispered, so soft I almost couldn't hear, Nico and me were, ah, hanging out like you just saw us, and Artemis decided to stop in…something about a mission calling her away, but the moment she saw us, she was outraged.

"She started shouting at me counteracting my oath, and then she turned on Nico, yelling at him for seducing me. And then…she was going to kill him, Annabeth.

"She started chanting, and her eyes glowed. And then…Nico used some dark smoke or something, but he got free. Artemis was so mad, so outraged, she gave me a dark look and growled, 'You, Thalia Grace, do not deserve to be a Hunter!' and I…I'm not immortal anymore. I couldn't care much about that, but then now I'm in the bad graces of my formal mistress. _That's _bad, Annabeth. And she's really…mad. I don't know if Apollo is mad, but…I need arrows. That's all I know. I mean, sure, swords are great and all, but I've gotten used to arrows. What if they will every arrow to miss?" Thalia put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do!"

Annabeth hugged her close, patting her back. "You'll be fine," she assured her.

Suddenly, there was a painful light near the two of them, and a male voice said, "Ms. Grace, I do not loathe you."

Apollo appeared, smiling a radiant smile, and wearing battle gear. I don't know why.

"My sister…well, she can get pretty temperamental," he continued, oblivious to their awed looks. "She may hate you now, but she'll forgive you like _that_," he said, snapping, causing a small supernova at his fingertips. "Meanwhile, whenever _she _tries to mess up your arrows, I assure you, I'll make sure it flies straight." He straightened his breastplate. "Just wanted to let you know." He suddenly looked kind of embarrassed. "Ah, look, I've got to go," he said quickly, and flashed out.

Thalia looked flustered. Annabeth looked mischievous. "Looks like someone's got a crush on you," she teased.

Thalia didn't see it coming. "_WHAT!" _she screamed.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You. Are. So. _Oblivious!_" she said, shaking Thalia's shoulders. Maybe Apollo doesn't like you _like you _that way, but you're definitely a favorite of his."

"You think?" Thalia said thoughtfully.

"I _know_," she said, laughing.

Someone pulled up a chair next to me. Apollo. "They're right," he grumbled, pulling the umbrella down, but light radiated from him anyway. "It's not a crush," he assured me, "It's more like…a like. A favorite," he said.

I knew when Apollo was on a roll, so I let him keep talking.

"She's got a bright future with that Hades kid," he continued. "They're going fast, but they really do love each other. They're a _great _couple.

"I'll make things happen for them," he said, almost dreamily. "Make Aphrodite make things smooth. Not complications. That girl lost some years as a tree. She deserves greatness."

He patted my shoulder, and I jumped a bit at the heat, like the sun shining down on me. "Thanks for listening," he told me. "Most would interrupt and make fun." Then he was gone.

Annabeth and Thalia were still talking about Apollo. I decided to take a nap.

When I woke up, Annabeth was sitting in the chair next to me, her hand on mine. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not. She shifted, sliding down in her chair a bit, and I decided she was asleep.

She had changed out of her dinner clothes, and her snotty shirt, and was wearing a loose shirt with a picture of a girl rising above the clouds. It looked sketched. She wore jean shorts.

I decided to look back in the room. Then I adverted my eyes back to Annabeth. Thalia and Nico were…hanging out again.

Someone said softly, "Mmm." I looked over. Annabeth was curled up on her chair, smiling. I was glad she didn't seem to be in pain.

The balcony was pretty nice. There was a string hanging down from the ceiling, and if I pulled it, curtains would come down so the place was closed in. There was a couch by the rail, and the two other everything-chairs, and a glass table. It was nice and simple.

I don't know if it was a conscious thing, or one of those sleep talk moments, but I heard Annabeth say so softly I almost missed it, "No."

No?

"Please," she whimpered, and I wanted to comfort her and wake her up, but it might be a vision. It more than likely was. She rolled over, falling right off the chair, and I thought that would wake her. Instead she started screaming loudly, but I couldn't tell _what _she was screaming.

I got up out of my chair, picking her up by putting my arms under her shoulders, and she started yelling at me, and I only caught one word: _Never. _

She started throwing punches at me, yelling at me to stop, and suddenly her right foot shot out and kicked me in the calf, on the cast. I cried out, because it sent a jolt up my leg, and I stumbled backward, slamming into the rail, sliding down.

Annabeth woke up, disoriented for a minute, then saw me. "Oh gods Percy, oh gods," she said, rushing over. She helped me up, and I noticed one leg, the one with the cast, was slightly bent at an awkward angle. But she didn't seem to notice; she helped me up, pressing up against me to support me. She headed toward the screen door, but stopped when she saw what was happening inside. "Oh gods Percy, we'd better give you some ambrosia; it's inside!" she shouted loudly enough for them to hear.

Thalia and Nico shot up so sudden they toppled off the bed. Annabeth hissed in annoyance and walked in, and said, "Get your stupid clothes on; don't you _dare _get up until I say, or unless you have clothes on," she warned.

She helped me over to her bag, and I was glad we got the bed closer to the balcony; we didn't have to walk past Nico and Thalia. She sat me down and got the ambrosia out, and came over. She fed me the ambrosia, and got out a regular mortal first aid kit. I tried to block it out, but I still heard Thalia and Nico.

She unwrapped the cast, which was bleeding through, and instantly, a gush of blood got on Annabeth's hands. She looked around desperately for something to stop the blood, and finally just took off her shirt. She wore a regular beige bra, and I realized I liked it better than Thalia's black one.

She wrapped it around my leg, pressing it against, but it quickly soaked through. She asked me for my shirt, and I took it off and gave it to her. She wrapped it, and it stopped a bit.

I could see the gears in her head turning, trying to remember what to do. She told me to keep my leg up on the bed; she'd be right back.

She went into the bathroom, and came out with more first aid stuff, and went over to her suitcase, getting out a light blouse with flowers on them. She slipped it over her head and came back, taking the shirts from my leg, and tossing them aside. She took out a bottle of something, read the label, and sprayed my leg.

I yelled, jerking my leg up and hitting her in the face.

She put my leg back down, her face now full of blood, and held my leg down this time. She sprayed something else on, and I yelled again, but this time she held it down firmly. She looked at it closely, and she seemed to radiate an aura that made my leg feel better. She looked alarmed, and got out a tweezers.

"What-What are you doing," I said shakily, trying to pull away.

She held my leg down, and said, "Percy…" She put the tweezers lightly in my leg and pulled something out. I grit my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. After maybe a minute, she exhaled, and said, "Okay, you can open your eyes."

I opened them. There was a small pile of things next to her: some small rocks, a broken tip of a fang, and some scales. The world spun.

"Percy," Annabeth said, standing up and steadying me. She whispered, "It's almost done." She bent back down and cleaned it out with a cotton puff, and blew on it lightly. Then she wrapped it back up.

She stood up shakily, falling on the bed next to me. We both stared at the ceiling.

"Sorry," she whispered.

I glanced at her. "Hmm?"

She put her hand on my knee lightly so not to agitate it. "Your knee," she prompted.

I nodded. "It's okay," I said. "I didn't really notice." Lie.

She glanced back at me. "Liar."

"You know me too well."

She laughed, and then suddenly, the others' bed shook and started smoking. We sat up to watch curiously. I noticed it first.

"Oh gods," I grumbled, glancing away, covering Annabeth's eyes. She gasped and groaned in disgust. Thalia and Nico had risen up through the bed on a sparking black cloud, but they hadn't gotten dressed, and had apparently forgot we were still there.

"A_hem_," Annabeth snapped, and the cloud dissipated as Thalia yelped in surprise. Our eyes were still closed, but I felt the watery air breeze past us as the cloud came apart.

"You sick disgusting people," Annabeth muttered.

"I thought you were gone!" Thalia protested.

"Just get dressed," I cut in.

After they assured us they _were really, really dressed, _we opened our eyes and looked at the clock. It read _6:50. _

"We better get ready," Annabeth grumbled. "It's gonna be a _long _night."

**How am I doing? Review!**

**I think I might tie this up soon…I'm not sure. **

**Please tell me what you think!**

**Hey sorry it's been a while since I've posted but I posted two chapters!**

**I'm kind of getting bored with this story, but let me know if you think I should keep going.**

**This story is coming to a close soon. Enjoy!**


	11. The REAL Chapter Eleven

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 11: What Happens When I'm "Not Looking"

I sat down in the chair; one of the nice lean-back-pop-up-umbrella-built-in-drink-holder chairs. There were four; one for each of us. I tipped the umbrella forward so it covered my eyes to onlookers, but I could see inside. Another umbrella popped up in the back, blocking the midday sun. I glanced at a clock on the glass table on the balcony. It read 12:17.

I listened and watched the activities in the room. They thought I fell asleep. Let's see what they did while I was 'asleep.'

Annabeth went outside to get ice, and Thalia turned to Nico.

"A month?" she asked.

"Yeah," Nico said, looking in the fridge. He came back out with a 7up. "So?"

"Where'd she get the money?" she said curiously.

"Why would I know?" Nico said, trying to open the bottle. He shook it. I heard the bubbles fizzle.

"Nico!" Thalia screamed, snatching the bottle away. She opened it, and I thanked the gods they were on _their _side. The bottle exploded, splashing Thalia in the face, and wetting the bed, ceiling, and Nico's shirt. When the explosion stopped, Thalia's mouth was open in surprise.

"Nico," she growled.

Nico tried to apologize. "Hey, _you _were the one who took it-"

Thalia didn't listen. She tackled him onto the bed, pinning him down by putting her arms on either side of him. She growled like the Hunter's wolf. Maybe she was calling hers. Nico looked nervous. "Um, sorry?"

I was confused. Was she angry or taunting? I shifted sort of uncomfortably in my seat. Good show, but things might get out of hand soon, in two ways.

Thalia spread her legs onto either side of Nico's waist, and sat up. She smiled-not normally; either seductively or fiercely; not sure yet-and her fingers played with her collar; near the buttoned part. I had an idea of what was coming.

Yup.

She pulled the two parts of the shirt apart. It unbuttoned with a _snap! _and her black bra appeared.

I shifted again.

Nico's eyes bugged out of his head. Thalia smiled-seductively-and leaned forward to play with Nico's collar. She unbuttoned his, going down until it was gone.

I kind of felt like I was intruding; but I couldn't look away. I _really really _wanted to; but it's like when you're watching a TV show you don't want to; it kind of pulls you in.

She leaned forward, kissing his chest, and Nico started laughing. Eventually, after long, awkward stages that made me squirm and want to scream, they rolled around, Thalia just in her bra and underwear, Nico in his boxers. They were so much into it they didn't notice (or seem to) when they fell off the bed. They fell off the side where I couldn't see.

It was at that moment that Annabeth decided to come back; I stared, curious. What was happening?

Annabeth opened the door, supposedly in a position where she would have a clear view of Thalia and Nico; but I really didn't know what they were doing, or if they rolled under the bed or something.

Annabeth was smiling, holding the ice, but then her gaze traveled slightly down, in the approximate area where Thalia and Nico should be.

Annabeth dropped the ice and screamed.

I lowered the umbrella.

After Nico and Thalia scrambled into their clothes, Nico got so embarrassed he announced he was going to take a shower.

As soon as he closed the door, Thalia sat down on her bed and said, "Look, Annabeth-"

"No, I just want to get the image out of my head," Annabeth interrupted, covering her eyes. "Please, talk about something else…"

Thalia laughed. "Ah, I'm not a Hunter anymore?" She sounded breath caught in her throat. "How?" she squeaked.

Thalia shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the bathroom door. "Well," she whispered, so soft I almost couldn't hear, Nico and me were, ah, hanging out like you just saw us, and Artemis decided to stop in…something about a mission calling her away, but the moment she saw us, she was outraged.

"She started shouting at me counteracting my oath, and then she turned on Nico, yelling at him for seducing me. And then…she was going to kill him, Annabeth.

"She started chanting, and her eyes glowed. And then…Nico used some dark smoke or something, but he got free. Artemis was so mad, so outraged, she gave me a dark look and growled, 'You, Thalia Grace, do not deserve to be a Hunter!' and I…I'm not immortal anymore. I couldn't care much about that, but then now I'm in the bad graces of my formal mistress. _That's _bad, Annabeth. And she's really…mad. I don't know if Apollo is mad, but…I need arrows. That's all I know. I mean, sure, swords are great and all, but I've gotten used to arrows. What if they will every arrow to miss?" Thalia put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do!"

Annabeth hugged her close, patting her back. "You'll be fine," she assured her.

Suddenly, there was a painful light near the two of them, and a male voice said, "Ms. Grace, I do not loathe you."

Apollo appeared, smiling a radiant smile, and wearing battle gear. I don't know why.

"My sister…well, she can get pretty temperamental," he continued, oblivious to their awed looks. "She may hate you now, but she'll forgive you like _that_," he said, snapping, causing a small supernova at his fingertips. "Meanwhile, whenever _she _tries to mess up your arrows, I assure you, I'll make sure it flies straight." He straightened his breastplate. "Just wanted to let you know." He suddenly looked kind of embarrassed. "Ah, look, I've got to go," he said quickly, and flashed out.

Thalia looked flustered. Annabeth looked mischievous. "Looks like someone's got a crush on you," she teased.

Thalia didn't see it coming. "_WHAT!" _she screamed.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You. Are. So. _Oblivious!_" she said, shaking Thalia's shoulders. Maybe Apollo doesn't like you _like you_that way, but you're definitely a favorite of his."

"You think?" Thalia said thoughtfully.

"I _know_," she said, laughing.

Someone pulled up a chair next to me. Apollo. "They're right," he grumbled, pulling the umbrella down, but light radiated from him anyway. "It's not a crush," he assured me, "It's more like…a like. A favorite," he said.

I knew when Apollo was on a roll, so I let him keep talking.

"She's got a bright future with that Hades kid," he continued. "They're going fast, but they really do love each other. They're a_great _couple.

"I'll make things happen for them," he said, almost dreamily. "Make Aphrodite make things smooth. Not complications. That girl lost some years as a tree. She deserves greatness."

He patted my shoulder, and I jumped a bit at the heat, like the sun shining down on me. "Thanks for listening," he told me. "Most would interrupt and make fun." Then he was gone.

Annabeth and Thalia were still talking about Apollo. I decided to take a nap.

When I woke up, Annabeth was sitting in the chair next to me, her hand on mine. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not. She shifted, sliding down in her chair a bit, and I decided she was asleep.

She had changed out of her dinner clothes, and her snotty shirt, and was wearing a loose shirt with a picture of a girl rising above the clouds. It looked sketched. She wore jean shorts.

I decided to look back in the room. Then I adverted my eyes back to Annabeth. Thalia and Nico were…hanging out again.

Someone said softly, "Mmm." I looked over. Annabeth was curled up on her chair, smiling. I was glad she didn't seem to be in pain.

The balcony was pretty nice. There was a string hanging down from the ceiling, and if I pulled it, curtains would come down so the place was closed in. There was a couch by the rail, and the two other everything-chairs, and a glass table. It was nice and simple.

I don't know if it was a conscious thing, or one of those sleep talk moments, but I heard Annabeth say so softly I almost missed it, "No."

No?

"Please," she whimpered, and I wanted to comfort her and wake her up, but it might be a vision. It more than likely was. She rolled over, falling right off the chair, and I thought that would wake her. Instead she started screaming loudly, but I couldn't tell_what _she was screaming.

I got up out of my chair, picking her up by putting my arms under her shoulders, and she started yelling at me, and I only caught one word: _Never._

She started throwing punches at me, yelling at me to stop, and suddenly her right foot shot out and kicked me in the calf, on the cast. I cried out, because it sent a jolt up my leg, and I stumbled backward, slamming into the rail, sliding down.

Annabeth woke up, disoriented for a minute, then saw me. "Oh gods Percy, oh gods," she said, rushing over. She helped me up, and I noticed one leg, the one with the cast, was slightly bent at an awkward angle. But she didn't seem to notice; she helped me up, pressing up against me to support me. She headed toward the screen door, but stopped when she saw what was happening inside. "Oh gods Percy, we'd better give you some ambrosia; it's inside!" she shouted loudly enough for them to hear.

Thalia and Nico shot up so sudden they toppled off the bed. Annabeth hissed in annoyance and walked in, and said, "Get your stupid clothes on; don't you _dare _get up until I say, or unless you have clothes on," she warned.

She helped me over to her bag, and I was glad we got the bed closer to the balcony; we didn't have to walk past Nico and Thalia. She sat me down and got the ambrosia out, and came over. She fed me the ambrosia, and got out a regular mortal first aid kit. I tried to block it out, but I still heard Thalia and Nico.

She unwrapped the cast, which was bleeding through, and instantly, a gush of blood got on Annabeth's hands. She looked around desperately for something to stop the blood, and finally just took off her shirt. She wore a regular beige bra, and I realized I liked it better than Thalia's black one.

She wrapped it around my leg, pressing it against, but it quickly soaked through. She asked me for my shirt, and I took it off and gave it to her. She wrapped it, and it stopped a bit.

I could see the gears in her head turning, trying to remember what to do. She told me to keep my leg up on the bed; she'd be right back.

She went into the bathroom, and came out with more first aid stuff, and went over to her suitcase, getting out a light blouse with flowers on them. She slipped it over her head and came back, taking the shirts from my leg, and tossing them aside. She took out a bottle of something, read the label, and sprayed my leg.

I yelled, jerking my leg up and hitting her in the face.

She put my leg back down, her face now full of blood, and held my leg down this time. She sprayed something else on, and I yelled again, but this time she held it down firmly. She looked at it closely, and she seemed to radiate an aura that made my leg feel better. She looked alarmed, and got out a tweezers.

"What-What are you doing," I said shakily, trying to pull away.

She held my leg down, and said, "Percy…" She put the tweezers lightly in my leg and pulled something out. I grit my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. After maybe a minute, she exhaled, and said, "Okay, you can open your eyes."

I opened them. There was a small pile of things next to her: some small rocks, a broken tip of a fang, and some scales. The world spun.

"Percy," Annabeth said, standing up and steadying me. She whispered, "It's almost done." She bent back down and cleaned it out with a cotton puff, and blew on it lightly. Then she wrapped it back up.

She stood up shakily, falling on the bed next to me. We both stared at the ceiling.

"Sorry," she whispered.

I glanced at her. "Hmm?"

She put her hand on my knee lightly so not to agitate it. "Your knee," she prompted.

I nodded. "It's okay," I said. "I didn't really notice." Lie.

She glanced back at me. "Liar."

"You know me too well."

She laughed, and then suddenly, the others' bed shook and started smoking. We sat up to watch curiously. I noticed it first.

"Oh gods," I grumbled, glancing away, covering Annabeth's eyes. She gasped and groaned in disgust. Thalia and Nico had risen up through the bed on a sparking black cloud, but they hadn't gotten dressed, and had apparently forgot we were still there.

"A_hem_," Annabeth snapped, and the cloud dissipated as Thalia yelped in surprise. Our eyes were still closed, but I felt the watery air breeze past us as the cloud came apart.

"You sick disgusting people," Annabeth muttered.

"I thought you were gone!" Thalia protested.

"Just get dressed," I cut in.

After they assured us they _were really, really dressed, _we opened our eyes and looked at the clock. It read _6:50._

"We better get ready," Annabeth grumbled. "It's gonna be a _long _night."

**Hey so sorry! I accidentally posted two chapters in one!**

**Here's the REAL chapter Eleven ^^^. Enjoy…again.**


	12. Chapter 12

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 12: Dinner Party

After we'd all gotten showered, dressed, brushed, and "garnished," as Nico called it, we went downstairs and asked our service dude where to go.

"The ballroom," he said. When we all gave him blank stares, he rolled his eyes and said, "The large, furnished room that sparkles brightly."

We thanked him and went in.

The ballroom was huge. It had a rounded ceiling with a million chandeliers hanging from it, and they were all lit with candles. Half the room was roped off with velvet ropes to dance, and on the other side, candle-lit tables with clean white tablecloths and at least twenty seats per table stood. Fancy dudes in fancy clothes waltzed around, serving food and helping out.

Annabeth scanned the crowd, looking for anyone we knew-though it was only 8:15; pretty early yet-and I couldn't help but stare. Annabeth had told us that we'd gotten dressed fancily when we left the other hotel so that when we arrived at the new, we'd be taken for rich, fancy people; that's who we needed to come off as.

Now, she'd dressed in something different. I'd thought the satin white dress was stunning; this one was dazzling. It was longer, ending just above her ankles in the front; trailing down behind her, almost like a wedding dress, in the back. Her hair was half-up-half-down, and she wore the silver circlet. White high heels, shining ones, decorated her feet. She wore five silver bracelets on one hand, and seven gold ones on her other. I had more green sparkles in my hair, and wore a black tuxedo with black dress pants, and a green tie, matching my eyes.

"There," she whispered, pointing to a large table that had at least thirty chairs if not more, near an exit. We walked over, Thalia and Nico behind us. Thalia didn't look too happy about her outfit; a silky black dress with black high heels, and her hair was half-up-half-down too; with the silver circlet. She wore the bracelets too.

Nico wore an identical tuxedo to mine; same pants; same shoes. His hair had dark blue sparkles, and had a dark blue tie.

We sat down, and waiters filled our water glasses. When they asked if we would like to order, Annabeth said we'd wait.

We watched the dancers, twirling around without a care in the world. One girl leapt up, and the man caught her, so she was frozen in a straddle above his head.

Someone coughed near me, and I looked up. Beckendorf was there; same tux, same shoes, same pants-must be a man uniform or something-and a light blue tie, with light blue sparkles. He smiled, and said, "Percy, my man!"

I stood up and gave him a handshake, and Nico did too. I felt silly; like an adult. I was only seventeen, and I was at a fancy ballroom, dressed like a man, acting like a man. Then I realized: it was part of our cover; in case any of Kronos (or Gaea's, for that manner) army were lurking near. We were no juvenile teens on the run. We were formal adults, who were rich and clueless.

Beckendorf sat Silena down, and she was dressed in the same manner as the other girls; half-up-half-down hairstyle, silver circlet, light blue heels, light blue dress, and the bracelets. I realized that, as the girls sat down together, chatting, the more excited they got and the more there were, the bracelets began to glow brighter.

Travis and Katie; Connor and Lacy arrived together; the twins-brothers-never went anywhere separately, so this was no surprise.

Travis and Katie looked nervous. They'd recently started dating; they used to hate each other for Travis's pranks, but ever since Travis had saved Katie from a hellhound that had broken into camp, they'd kind of fell in love. They held hands, and otherwise looked pretty happy. Travis's tie and sparkles were bright blue, same as his brother's, and Katie's dress was bright blue, matching Lacy's. They sat down with the other girls, and the bracelets glowed.

Us boys waited a while, talking about random stuff, mostly about our girlfriends. We tried to out-brag each other, and were still debating who had the best smile when Grover and Juniper; and Tyson and Miranda came.

For non-humans, the pairs pulled off their outfits pretty well. Juniper wore a-surprise, surprise-dark green dress that smelled suspiciously of Juniper, and Grover's tie matched hers. Thalia and Nico gave him a death glare, which looked pretty convincing, considering Nico _was _the son of death, and Thalia had years of practice.

Tyson and Miranda looked nervous. While I would have thought their clothes would be chunky and awkward, they looked like the "perfect couple." They were skinnier than Cyclops should've been, and Miranda had shocking green hair, and a shocking green dress that matched. Tyson's tie matched.

The bracelets were getting harder to look at.

Bianca and Castor came. Thalia and Nico stood up so suddenly their drinks spilled. Thalia went over to greet Castor while Nico embraced his back-form-the-dead sister. She smiled and laughed, her sparkling blue dress shimmered with every move. She smiled and hugged her brother, eyes shining. Then Nico greeted Castor formally, and they walked back to the table, where we all burst into conversation. Thalia led Bianca back to the table.

Clarisse and Chris arrived, Clarisse looking self-conscious in her light red dress. The girls swarmed her, telling her she looked fabulous. We patted Chris on the back, laughing, no one bringing up our quest to the labyrinth.

About five minutes later, Drew and Ethan came, looking murderous. To tell the truth, I was surprised they were on our side. But however bad they were, they were furious fighters for _our cause. _They were both hissing at each other, but put on a smile when we called them. But I knew they really liked each other because they kept giving each other love-struck glances from across the table.

Then the others came. Jason and Piper were up there with Tyson and Miranda, Piper in a hot pink dress, Jason with hot pink sparkles and tie. Neither looked too happy.

Frank and Hazel kept glancing at each other, eyes sparkling, and I knew they must've really cared for each other. I inadvertently glanced at Annabeth, who smiled.

Reyna and Leo looked uncomfortable. Annabeth had told me they'd just started dating _literally _the day before. The next day they were asked to pose as a couple at an important meeting. Leo looked good though, his curly black hair desperately pinned back, but it was popping out anyway. His tie and sparkles matched Reyna's: dark red.

The bracelets had began releasing transparent bubbles that eventually formed a bubble around our table. The bracelets had created a force field.

We all switched seats so we were sitting next to our dates. Then the waiters came and took our orders. We all asked for soda, and the waiters gave us a strange look. Eventually, we somehow ended up ordering cocktails.

All the boys ordered spaghetti, and again, strange looks. We got "linguini and meat sauce," which Annabeth assured me was spaghetti. All the girls got shrimp scampi, which she told me was "mini shrimp." I said, "Doesn't 'shrimp' mean small?" Annabeth smiled and nodded. "So it means 'small small,'" we said at the same time, and laughed.

The waiters came back with our drinks. We all did a toast to "safety." Everyone brought the glasses to their lips, but nobody looked ready to drink it.

"It's alcohol," Nico said flatly.

Travis and Connor glanced at each other. Then they tilted their heads back and gulped it up. When their heads flopped back up, their eyes were wide. "That was _great!" _Travis shouted. We all smiled and tried it. Soon, all our glasses were empty, and we ordered more.

When our food came, we ate it so fast that the waiters looked surprised. We drank our cocktails, and the waiter timidly suggested champagne.

We found we enjoyed champagne too; even more than cocktails. Eventually we all got up and danced, but were so hyper we left the ballroom and went to the dark room. Annabeth told me it was like a night club.

We all laughed and danced, switching partners-me, Annabeth; me, Silena; me, a girl I didn't know.

We were all so drunk and distracted that no one noticed the shadows that seemed to pass us every time we turned around.

**Hey so sorry about the two-in-one accident. Hope you enjoy! I'll post one more chapter, and then I have to brainstorm. I'm running out of ideas! I'm tying this book up, though.**


	13. Chapter 13

Before I begin:

_**As much as I would've liked to, I do not own Percy Jackson Characters. They're owned by the amazing Rick Riordan. This is my first fanfic…so give me some constructive criticism! (Not too harsh, please) I already made eleven chapters…but give me some ideas anyway!**_

_**Thank you!**_

Chapter 13: Stalked, and Nearly Killed

We all partied, dancing, laughing, drinking. The force field seemed to individually surround each of us. The lights got brighter. The shouts got softer, but louder at the same time. Eventually I got back with Annabeth and spun her around and we spun around so much we collapsed at the bar.

We laughed, and the bartender gave us two glasses of water. "On the house…you gonna need it," he commented.

We drank it and the world got a bit clearer. For example, I saw some shadowy figures lurking near Silena, who was laughing at something Beckendorf was saying. Then, suddenly, the shadows grabbed her-but Beckendorf was too drunk to notice. He continued to talk to the wall.

I glanced at Annabeth. She noticed too. She picked at a silver bracelet with an owl on it. Her mom's. She pressed her forefinger into it, and all the girls' eyes suddenly cleared. They grabbed their dates and fingered their ties. I glanced at Annabeth. "That's why I kept fingering it," she told me. "It's a keypad, really. And only the dates can work them."

They all came over and gathered around.

"Silena's gone," she announced quietly.

After we'd grabbed Beckendorf, we all went up to our rooms. We went into our own rooms and Annabeth opened her laptop. We were still in our party clothes, but they were rumpled, torn, spilled on, barfed on, and messed up. We looked like zombie partiers.

She opened Skype, and clicked on _group chat. _Immediately the others began to answer. Leo, Reyna, Piper, Jason, Hazel, and Frank answered first. They'd named it _Valdez. _

Travis, Katie, Connor, and Lacy answered next. Their name was _L-Aced._

Clarisse, Chris, Drew, and Ethan answered. Their name was _Alpha._

Jupiter, Grover, Tyson and Miranda answered. Their name was _Monsters Inc._

And Bianca and Castor, and Beckendorf (who was still drunk because Silena was gone) answered last. Their name was _Ghosts. _

Annabeth clicked something so there were six different screens. Us, and the other five groups. We looked like a band of dead partiers.

Beckendorf was stumbling around in the background. He stuck his head in the closet and shouted, "Yo, Narnia!"

Bianca smiled wearily. "He's…uh…"

"Still drunk," Castor finished.

Annabeth nodded. "So, uh, we need to find Silena…and get out of here."

The others nodded. It looked strange. All their heads bobbed at once.

"So, call room service. Tell them to send your bags to Delphi Strawberry Co., New York City. Then meet everyone in the lobby…with your weapons. Oh, and change first," Annabeth reminded them.

We signed out.

We all got changed, into comfortable clothes like jeans and a t-shirt. We all slipped our weapons wherever we kept them, and packed some ambrosia and nectar.

We called room service and our bags were gone. We went down, and saw that half the others were already there. Finally, everyone was there…except Beckendorf, Castor, and Bianca.

We were a large group. It was going to be dangerous and hard.

Annabeth looked wearily up at the levels. "Um, Percy, wanna go check on them?"

I nodded. The others subconsciously moved closer together.

The elevator doors dinged open on the 53rd floor. It was deathly quiet. We stopped in front of their room: 5312. There was no sound from inside. Annabeth nervously played with my fingers as she gripped my hand. Glancing at each other, we turned to the door and kicked in hard.

The door flew open, and Annabeth stifled a scream.

The floor was littered with pools of blood, and Castor lay on the bed. We rushed in, highly alert, and went over to him. He had been stabbed repeatedly in the chest, and his eyes were glazed over. Annabeth closed her eyes and put her head against my chest.

He wasn't dead.

I got out the ambrosia, and fed it to him slowly. His eyes cleared a bit, and he managed to gasp, "Bianca…dracaena…Beckendorf…disappeared…"

His eyes closed. But he still wasn't dead.

**Hey so sorry about the two-in-one accident. Hope you enjoy! I'll post one more chapter, and then I have to brainstorm. I'm running out of ideas! Here's the second chapter ENJOY!**


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